Why is the oil mega-complex of Jamnagar in India of interest to Washington?

The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, spent his second day in India touring the world's largest refinery, the Jamnagar oil complex, which occupies a quarter of the total area of this coastal city in the west of the country. Received on foot by the multi-billionaire Ambani family, owners of the center spanning more than 30 square kilometers, his visit comes during the diesel crisis and with the electoral backdrop in the United States. The head of diplomacy at the White House did not visit the political capital nor meet with the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, but he did meet with the richest men in Asia in the financial capital, Bombay, including Indian magnates Gautam Adani and N. Chandrasekaran, among others. Business diplomacy Rubio's tour, focused on business diplomacy, responds to Washington's priority of ensuring the supply "at a time when energy is a vital part of the geopolitical decisions being made," the U.S. Secretary stated to journalists this Wednesday. With a daily processing of 1.4 million barrels, approximately 1.5% of global consumption, the Jamnagar complex has established itself as a protagonist in the global supply. A plant capable of refining Venezuelan crude The Jamnagar plant is among the few petrochemical facilities in the world capable of processing Venezuela's ultra-heavy Merey 16 crude, only alongside the complexes in the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S. New Delhi was in the past one of the world's largest buyers of Venezuelan oil, until the arrival of international sanctions. "India is a superpower in refining. They have the capacity to refine heavy crude, they have done so in the past and, as more Venezuelan oil becomes available in the market, it is something they can undoubtedly do," Rubio told the media. Following negotiations to allow the production of the Caribbean country to exit, Washington seeks to rely on Reliance to channel up to 370,000 barrels per day to Gujarat this month, according to estimates from the Kpler consultancy. Displacing Russia This maneuver addresses two priorities of the U.S. Administration. On one hand, it seeks to increase the international supply of diesel, the main derivative exported by Jamnagar to Europe and the United States, to alleviate pressure on fuel prices. On the other hand, it seeks to gradually displace Indian imports of Russian oil. Since 2022, India has become the second-largest global buyer of discounted supplies from Moscow, processing a large part through this refining center. "India is willing (to refine more Venezuelan oil). There may be some impediments related to sanctions and other issues that we will have to resolve," Rubio stated in Bombay. A buffer against wars The location of the Indian plant in Gujarat, with direct access to the Arabian Sea, makes it an indispensable security buffer if conflicts in the Middle East block the maritime routes of the Strait of Hormuz or the Red Sea. Jamnagar processes discounted Russian crude and exports it as clean diesel to Europe and the United States, something that Washington seeks to supervise to prevent a global collapse, at a time when the Trump administration itself had to authorize purchases of Russian diesel to curb price escalation in its domestic market.