US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has begun a two-day trip to India that includes a tour of Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, the world's largest single-site oil refinery, Al Jazeera reports.
The visit skips New Delhi at a time of strained relations and a stalled trade deal, and the US ambassador described it as more business-focused than Rubio's earlier trip. After meetings in Mumbai, Rubio is due to meet Reliance executives at the complex, which can process 1.4 million barrels a day.
Reliance, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, has become central to Washington's attempts to curb Russian oil purchases and hold down fuel prices during the war with Iran, as diesel costs rise in the US before the midterm elections. The refinery has sharply increased Venezuelan crude imports, and Reliance recently committed to a large US investment.
Source: Al Jazeera
