What did Rubio discuss with the Ambanis during his Jamnagar visit? What role can Reliance play?

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Reliance Industries' sprawling Jamnagar complex and held discussions with Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on expanding commercial cooperation in conventional and new energy.

Rubio, accompanied by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, was given a tour of the world's largest refinery complex, Reliance said in a statement.

The visit comes as the Trump administration seeks to increase American energy exports to India, encourage the processing of crude oil from the Western Hemisphere and expand investment ties with Reliance.

The Reliance delegation briefed the US officials on the company's investments in energy and digital infrastructure, including its new energy giga-factories being commissioned in phases and data centres under construction.

"Mukesh Ambani and Anant Ambani outlined Reliance's long-term vision for the Jamnagar complex and its development as a centre for deep-tech, innovation and advanced manufacturing," the company said.

The discussions covered the global energy landscape and opportunities for commercial partnerships across conventional and new energy.

“The exchange covered reliable and affordable energy supplies, technological advances, resilient supply chains and the investment required to meet growing demand,” it said.

The two sides also explored the growing intersection of energy and digital infrastructure, including the role of dependable power supplies in supporting data centres and the expansion of the digital economy.

The Ambanis shared their perspectives on opportunities for collaboration with US companies, drawing on complementary strengths in technology, engineering and advanced manufacturing, Reliance said.

Ahead of his Jamnagar visit, Rubio on Tuesday said India could play a significant role in refining Venezuelan crude oil and indicated that he would discuss potential opportunities with Reliance.

"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 had said at a press conference.

"As more and more Venezuelan oil comes online, it's something they can do," he said, describing India as a "refining superpower".

Rubio said Venezuelan oil supplies could provide some relief to global energy markets, although they would not be sufficient on their own to offset potential disruptions elsewhere.

In a separate interview with News18, Rubio said the visit was aimed at exploring closer energy cooperation 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.

"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.

Reliance's proposed 1,68,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Brownsville, Texas, being developed by America First Refining, is designed to process US-produced light shale crude and, if completed, would be the first major new refinery in the United States in about five decades. Reliance has signed a long-term agreement to purchase the plant's refined products.