Rubio says India can refine more Venezuelan crude, to discuss opportunities with Reliance

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said India could play a significant role in refining Venezuelan crude oil, announcing that he would discuss potential opportunities with Reliance Industries during a visit to its Jamnagar operations.

Rubio said Indian companies had refined Venezuelan heavy crude in the past and could do so again as Venezuela's oil production increases, though existing US sanctions on the government of Nicolas Maduro could pose some hurdles.

"They can, and we'll talk about that tomorrow with Reliance. They've done so in the past. They have the capability to refine heavy crude," Rubio said at a press conference.

"As more and more Venezuelan oil comes online, it's something they can do," he said. “And India’s a refining superpower, and they have the ability to do that. They have companies that know how to do that.”

Rubio said the increase in Venezuelan oil supplies could offer some relief to global energy markets, although it would not be sufficient on its own to offset potential supply disruptions elsewhere.

"I'm not claiming to you that Venezuela alone can fill the hole that could be caused by some of the things that are happening around the world, but I think over time it most certainly can, and in the short term it can somewhat provide relief," he said.

Asked whether he would encourage Reliance to enter oil production in Venezuela, Rubio said Washington would discuss the company's plans and the opportunities available.

"We're going to go see what their hold-up is and what opportunities exist," he said. “This is a company that has had a presence in Venezuela in the past, and its refining capabilities are substantial.”

Rubio also flagged the need to work through potential impediments arising from sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime.

In a separate interview with News18's Rahul Joshi, Rubio said his visit to Reliance's Jamnagar facility was aimed at exploring closer cooperation in the energy sector and helping India diversify its energy supplies.

"Reliance is a very important company and has extraordinary capacity to refine energy. Petroleum is useless if you don't refine it into a useable product," he said.

He said Venezuela was increasing its energy production and India had a long history of refining some of its crude.

Rubio also highlighted Reliance's investments in refining capacity in the United States, saying the company's operations offered an opportunity to deepen energy cooperation between the two countries.

"They've invested in increasing the refining capacity within the United States. So being so close, it made sense to go see their operations, spend some time talking to them about the way we can work together more closely, especially when it comes to energy from the Western Hemisphere that can be refined here," he said.

"I think that's helpful to India, but it's also helpful to us," Rubio added.

In March, US President Donald Trump announced that Reliance Industries would invest in a major oil refinery project in the United States as part of a $300 billion deal.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said America First Refining would build the first new oil refinery in the US in 50 years at the Port of Brownsville in Texas and thanked Reliance for its investment.