Marco Rubio Visits India to Secure Energy Partnerships
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Indian industrial leaders to discuss Venezuelan crude processing and a new Reliance Industries refinery in Texas.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited India to secure energy partnerships and commercial investments aimed at lowering U.S. fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections. In Jamnagar, Gujarat, Rubio met with Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Executive Director Anant Ambani at the world's largest single-site refinery. The discussions focused on the processing of Venezuelan heavy crude, which the U.S. has effectively controlled since the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Reliance Industries has committed between $3 billion and $4 billion to build a new oil refinery at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. This project marks the first new U.S. refinery in 50 years and is intended to process local shale oil for global markets. While the U.S. seeks to penalize Russian energy buyers, Rubio acknowledged the difficulty of pivoting energy portfolios quickly, noting that India remains an important ally despite its continued imports of Russian oil.
Beyond Jamnagar, Rubio held meetings in Mumbai with Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran to discuss resilient supply chains and technological advancements. U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor noted that U.S. LPG exports to India have surged from under 10% to 67% over the past year, positioning the United States as India's largest LPG supplier.
