Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor with Ambanis during a visit to RIL's Jamnagar Refinery Complex.
NEW DELHI: RIL chairperson Mukesh Ambani Wednesday showcased the conglomerate’s refinery along with initiatives in data centres and new energy giga factories in Jamnagar to US secretary of state Marco Rubio. But oil and gas remained the centrepiece of discussions at a time when US is grappling with soaring fuel prices and low diesel stocks.“Over the past year, India’s imports of US LPG have surged from under 10% to 67%, making US India’s largest LPG supplier. Reliance’s planned investment in the first new US oil refinery in 50 years is another major opportunity to expand American energy production and create jobs,” US ambassador to India Sergio Gor posted on X after the visit.US President Donald Trump had earlier announced the setting up of a $300 billion refinery in US, with RIL being part of his plank to revive industry in the country and bring back jobs that were offshored.
The Mukesh Ambani-led company has, however, not outlined any details.The importance of Reliance has since increased because the Jamnagar complex is where hard Venezuelan crude can be refined. The takeover of Venezuelan oil reserves by US companies has been one of Trump’s bragging points.Rubio’s visit to Jamnagar came amid clear signals that US is interested in enhanced processing of Venezuelan crude. Outside US, RIL is the biggest user of Venezuelan crude.
“This is a very large and prominent energy company. They also have a pretty large investment already in US. They have extensive refining capacity. As I highlighted (earlier), this is a company, for example, that has the capability to refine the heavy crude that’s produced in the western hemisphere, including from Venezuela, so I’m sure that’s a topic we’ll discuss. I think through our conversations, we’ll hopefully identify other opportunities to partner and work together,” Rubio said.
In a statement, RIL said: “Secretary Rubio and Ambassador Gor were also explained Reliance’s New Energy giga-factories, which are currently being commissioned in phases, and the data centres under construction. The tour provided an overview of the company’s investments across energy and digital infrastructure, bringing together its well-established advanced manufacturing and deep-tech capabilities.”The talks, which included executive director Anant Ambani, also focused on the intersection of energy and digital infrastructure, including power supply for data centres.