Marco Rubio in Jamnagar: All about Reliance’s oil refinery in Gujarat

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Jamnagar, Gujarat, as part of his two-day trip to India. He visited Mumbai on October 20 and met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

After meetings in Mumbai, Mr Rubio flew to Gujarat to visit Reliance Industries’ refinery complex located in Jamnagar.

The Jamnagar refinery stopover comes at a time when the world is witnessing widespread uncertainty over oil prices owing to the West Asia conflict.

What is the Jamnagar Refinery complex?

Jamnagar is home to a vast refining complex operated by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. 

The facility has a crude processing capacity of about 1.4 million barrels per day, according to the company. Its facilities convert crude oil into fuels such as petrol and diesel, as well as petrochemical byproducts used to manufacture plastic, synthetic fibers and other industrial materials, says a report by news agency AP. 

It adds that the Jamnagar refinery is central to the energy business of the company and strengthens Reliance Industries’ position in global oil markets.

Comprises of two refinery plants

The Jamnagar plant has two refinery plants. The first one was installed in 1998 and the second in 2008.

A 2018 report in Business Line notes that in 1998, Reliance built its first refinery at Jamnagar with an installed capacity of 660,000 bpd or 33 metric tonnes.

It notes that a Special Economic Zone plant was added in 2008, making the facility the world’s largest oil processing hub. Most of the products from this second plant are sold overseas.

Why is Rubio visiting the oil-refinery facility?

Mr. Rubio’s visit to the Jamnagar facility comes as Washington pushes the country to diversify its energy imports away from Russia and seeks markets for expanded Venezuelan oil production.

Mr. Rubio said on October 20 that he would discuss increasing Venezuelan oil processing with Reliance, and that India could play a role in boosting global oil supplies as Venezuelan crude production increases, calling the country a “refining superpower.”

“They have the capability to refine heavy crude. They’ve done so in the past, and I think as more and more Venezuelan oil comes online, it’s something they can do,” he told reporters in Mumbai.

He added that the Jamnagar visit would offer a chance to explore how large-scale refining capacity can help countries navigate energy-security concerns that have been heightened by the wars involving Iran and Yemen and the accompanying threats to shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

“Energy is related to national security. You know, countries fight wars over energy, as an example. Economies collapse over lack of energy. So we’re going to go see a company that has a tremendous amount of refining capability, so it makes all the sense in the world to talk to them about it,” Mr. Rubio said.

With inputs from AP