Marco Rubio visits Reliance's Jamnagar refinery, meets Mukesh Ambani and family

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Reliance Industries' Jamnagar facilities in Gujarat on Wednesday, where billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani and almost his entire family welcomed him as he began a tour of the world's largest single-site refinery. The visit also included Reliance's Vantara animal-rescue centre and its green-energy giga factories.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said he was honoured to accompany Rubio to Reliance's Jamnagar facilities. Highlighting the growing energy partnership between the two countries, Gor said India's imports of US liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) had surged from less than 10% to 67% over the past year, making the United States India's largest LPG supplier.

Gor also highlighted Reliance's planned investment in the first new US oil refinery in 50 years, describing it as another major opportunity to expand American energy production and create



jobs.

Rubio's visit came a day after he described India as a crude-oil refining "superpower" and urged the country to process more Venezuelan crude. The visit placed Reliance, one of India's largest private industrial groups, at the centre of US-India energy diplomacy, analysts said.

Officials described the Ambani-hosted programme as a "private visit". Neither side released details of the visit. It came as US diesel prices surged ahead of the midterm elections.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd, welcomed Rubio alongside his wife, Nita Ambani, and their children, Isha and Anant, people familiar with the visit said.

Reliance's Jamnagar complex can process 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, making it the world's largest and most complex single-site refinery. Its fuel exports also make the facility a major hub for global supplies.