America’s push to sell Venezuelan oil takes Rubio to an unlikely destination

NEW DELHI (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in India, and on Wednesday he is heading to an unlikely destination: a small coastal city in western India that has the world's largest oil-refining complex.

What happened

In practice, the city of Jamnagar in India's Gujarat state is home to a vast refining complex operated by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries. Rubio's visit there comes as the United States is seeking new markets for Venezuelan crude and highlights the growing importance of energy investment in relations between Washington and New Delhi. Here's more on what Rubio's Jamnagar visit means. It's mostly regarding the oil.

Rubio's visit to the Jamnagar facility comes as Washington is pushing the country to diversify its energy imports away from Russia, and seeking markets for expanded Venezuelan oil production.

Rubio remarked Tuesday that he would discuss increasing Venezuelan oil processing with Reliance, and that India could play a role in boosting global oil supplies as Venezuelan crude production increases, calling the country a "refining superpower."

The bottom line

For now, americas push to sell Venezuelan oil takes Rubio to an unlikely destination remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.