US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States will discuss potential opportunities and sanctions-related hurdles with Reliance Industries as Washington seeks greater cooperation with India over Venezuelan oil. Rubio made the remarks after arriving in Mumbai on Tuesday, October 20, during a three-day visit to India.
Rubio is scheduled to visit Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat on Wednesday. He said the discussions would examine why cooperation involving Venezuela had not expanded and what opportunities could be pursued in the future.
“We’ve talked to them about it in the past. We’re going to go see what the holdup is and what opportunities exist. We’ll see how the conversation goes,” Rubio told reporters, according to ANI. He was responding to a question on whether the US would encourage Reliance to enter oil production in Venezuela.
Rubio said Reliance had previously had a presence in Venezuela and described the company’s refining capabilities as substantial. He also said the company had the technical ability to process heavy crude, a category of oil associated with Venezuela’s production.
“They have the capability to refine heavy crude. They’ve done so in the past,” Rubio said, highlighting India’s role as a major refining centre. He added that India could help process additional Venezuelan crude if production increases.
“India is a refining superpower. They have the ability to do that. They have companies that know how to do that,” Rubio said, according to the report.
The discussions also involve existing Indian interests in Venezuela’s oil sector. Rubio said Indian companies held pre-existing oil concessions in the country and could potentially increase production through those concessions. The report did not provide details on the concessions, their current output or the terms governing any possible expansion.
US sanctions remain a central constraint. Rubio acknowledged that sanctions and related restrictions could limit or complicate deeper cooperation between the United States, India and Venezuelan energy companies. “There might be a few impediments that stand in the way in terms of sanctions and so forth that we have to work through,” he said.
The proposed discussions place Jamnagar’s refining infrastructure at the centre of a wider energy conversation. Reliance’s refinery complex is being used as the setting for talks about crude processing, production capacity and the regulatory conditions that influence international oil trade. Any future expansion of cooperation would therefore depend not only on refinery capability, but also on sanctions compliance and the status of existing Venezuelan concessions.
Rubio’s comments come as disruptions to energy supplies, including conflict-related pressures on oil transportation routes and refining infrastructure, continue to affect fuel availability and prices globally. He said Venezuelan oil could help ease some supply pressures, while also acknowledging that it would not fully offset disruptions to global supplies.
Rubio arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday and is expected to continue his India visit through October 22. His visit to Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery on Wednesday is the next stated milestone in the discussions.
