Rubio Pushes for More Venezuelan Oil Refining by Operator of 1.4 Million-Barrel-a-Day Jamnagar Complex

Key Facts

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would encourage Reliance to refine more Venezuelan crude at its Indian refineries during a visit to India spanning energy and trade issues. Reuters quoted him as saying the possibility of the company producing oil in Venezuela would also return to the agenda. Reliance imports and refines Venezuelan crude but currently has no operations in the oil-producing country, according to the agency. The company operates the Jamnagar complex, which has crude processing capacity of about 1.4 million barrels a day, according to company data cited by the Associated Press. Rubio linked the visit to the facility to energy security, saying: "Energy is tied to national security."

India imports more than 85% of its crude oil needs, according to Reuters, a dependence that puts supply diversification at the heart of the oil discussions. Rubio said in an interview with Network 18 that Reliance's capabilities offered an opportunity to help India diversify its supply chain and energy sources. He added: "We think there is an opportunity to continue helping India diversify its supply chain and its energy supplies." But he said, according to the Associated Press, that Venezuelan oil alone would not offset potential supply disruptions elsewhere. Increased production could provide "some short-term relief," he said, defining the role he expected additional supplies to play.

Reliance's oil relationship with Venezuela has a history directly tied to U.S. trade policy, predating Rubio's current talks on expanding cooperation. In a report dated March 26, 2025, Reuters cited sources as saying the company would halt Venezuelan crude imports. That followed Washington's announcement of 25% tariffs on countries buying the oil, according to the same report. Reliance was then importing an average of 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude a month, according to London Stock Exchange Group data cited by the agency. The sources linked the decision to halt purchases to the announced U.S. tariffs on importing countries.

The proposal for oil cooperation coincided with talks between Rubio and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Mumbai, according to the Associated Press. The talks included deepening energy cooperation between the United States and India. The ministers also discussed nearing completion of a trade agreement between the countries, as part of a visit agenda combining the two issues. Rubio and Jaishankar also held a trilateral meeting with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The meeting covered regional energy security and shared economic priorities, according to the agency, bringing Emirati participation into the ongoing discussions in Mumbai.

The visit followed a move by U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt India from potential tariffs linked to its extensive purchases of Russian crude, according to Reuters. The agency described the exemption as removing a potential obstacle to the trade agreement Washington and New Delhi are negotiating. U.S. legislation concerning major importers of Russian oil allows tariffs of up to 100%. India is among the countries covered by the legislation, according to Reuters' report on the U.S. secretary of state's visit. Trump's exemption concerns potential tariffs on those purchases, while the question of setting new tariffs remains on the U.S. administration's agenda as outlined by Rubio.

Rubio is scheduled to visit the Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat and meet business leaders on Wednesday, according to the U.S. State Department, as reported by the Associated Press. On trade, Rubio described the U.S.-India agreement as "very, very close" to completion. He said a few provisions still needed to be finalized, with negotiations now confined to technical details, according to the Associated Press and Reuters. He set an expected timeframe for completion of "weeks, not months," according to Reuters. He added that the U.S. administration was entering a 60-day review period to determine what new tariffs it might impose.