Marco Rubio Urges Reliance Industries to Refine Venezuelan Crude

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the Reliance Industries Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat on October 21, 2026, to strengthen energy trade and encourage the processing of Western Hemisphere crude. During the visit, Rubio toured the world's largest single-site oil-refining complex, a clean-energy manufacturing hub, and the Vantara wildlife rescue center. He described India as a crude oil refining "superpower" and advocated for Reliance to refine more Venezuelan crude to increase global supplies of refined petroleum products.

Rubio met with Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Executive Director Anant Ambani to discuss resilient supply chains and the power requirements for data centers. The discussions also touched upon Reliance's planned investment in a new refinery in Brownsville, Texas, which would be the first major new US refinery in five decades. US officials highlighted a significant shift in energy trade, noting that US liquefied petroleum gas now accounts for 67% of India's imports, up from under 10% a year ago.

Concurrent with the diplomatic visit, shares of Reliance Industries rose 2.54% to Rs 1233.40. This growth was driven by the potential Venezuelan oil deals and the launch of the Jio Platforms initial public offering, which raised nearly Rs 8,110 crore from anchor investors on October 19 and opened to the public on October 21.