U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India from October 17 to 22, where he will meet with business leaders and visit the world’s largest oil refining complex in Jamnagar, according to the U.S. Department of State. The department stated the purpose of the trip is to promote commercial investment and economic cooperation.
The visit, which also includes a stop in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, will focus on meetings in Mumbai and Jamnagar, with no scheduled stop in New Delhi announced. In a press release, the State Department said Rubio will meet with senior Indian officials and business leaders during his second trip to the country this year.
A significant portion of the visit will center on the Jamnagar Refinery, which is owned and operated by Reliance Industries, a multinational conglomerate headed by Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani. U.S. Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, confirmed Rubio’s plan to visit the refining complex, telling Bloomberg that he imagined Ambani would be present for the meeting. In a separate interview with Indian news outlet NDTV, Gor said the visit was scheduled in light of Reliance’s “incredible” investment in a U.S. refinery project.
Reliance Industries did not respond to requests for comment regarding the visit. The State Department also did not respond to queries sent outside of working hours.
The trip occurs as the U.S. faces elevated diesel fuel prices ahead of its November midterm elections. The International Energy Agency has issued warnings that constraints on the diesel market are expected to keep prices high into the following year.
Some analysts have linked the timing of the visit to the U.S. energy market. Arpit Chaturvedi, a South Asia advisor at the strategic advisory firm Teneo, told CNBC that Jamnagar has “considerable export-oriented refining capacity,” which presents an opportunity for the U.S. to explore supplies of refined products, including diesel.
Reliance Industries has been increasing its business activities within the United States. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged Reliance for its “tremendous investment” in a new refinery project in Texas, the first of its kind in the U.S. in 50 years.
Atman Trivedi, a partner at the Albright Stonebridge Group in Washington, stated that the visit could highlight “Reliance’s plans for a large, new refinery in Texas” and that the company is “well-positioned to sell diesel” and other petroleum products to the U.S.
According to Reliance, the Jamnagar facility is the “largest and most complex single-site refinery” globally, with a crude oil processing capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day.
