Reliance says Ambanis and Rubio discussed global energy, data centres in visit

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his son Anant Ambani held discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the global energy landscape and the intersection of energy and digital infrastructure, including data centres, the Ambani-run Reliance Industries said on Wednesday.

Rubio was on a two-day visit to Mumbai and Jamnagar in the western part of India, where he met government and business leaders, including Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Ambani, whose Reliance Industries operates the world's largest refining complex in Jamnagar.

Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that he planned to encourage India's Reliance Industries to refine more Venezuelan crude at its local refineries and potentially begin producing oil in the South American country.

"The visit included wide-ranging discussions on the global energy landscape and opportunities for commercial partnerships across conventional and new energy," Reliance said in its statement on Wednesday.

The Ambanis also shared their perspectives on opportunities for collaboration with US companies, the company added.

Reliance's two massive refineries at the Jamnagar complex, with a combined capacity of about 1.4 million barrels per day of crude oil, are able to process the ultra-heavy crudes coming out of Venezuela, some of which have a sludge-like consistency.

As Venezuela's oil production has increased, Reliance has emerged as a significant importer of the nation's crude.