Evian-les-Bains, France – June 17: (LtoR) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gol attend a bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit the world’s largest oil refinery in India’s Jamnagar, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Reliance Industriesas diesel prices soar ahead of midterm US polls.
The International Energy Agency has warned that prices are likely to continue rising next year due to diesel market constraints. To ease diesel prices affecting U.S. truckers, farmers and shippers, U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month suspended sanctions on Russia and allowed Russian supplies to global markets.
Experts told CNBC that the Trump administration is using the trip to focus on business deals rather than policy and politics, as Americans remain focused on the economy ahead of midterm polls.
Ambani’s flagship company Reliance has invested in US refineries and is a major buyer of Venezuelan oil, as well as its strong diesel supply capacity, which drew Jamnagar to the spotlight during Rubio’s visit, they added.
On Tuesday, the US State Department announced that Rubio would travel to Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and from there to Mumbai and Jamnagar, India, without mentioning a stop in New Delhi from October 17 to 22.
Rubio, who is making his second visit to India this year, will meet with several senior Indian officials and business leaders “to promote opportunities for commercial investment and economic cooperation,” the statement said.
US-Ambani relationship
According to Bloomberg, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gol said Mr Rubio would travel to Jamnagar to visit Reliance’s refinery facilities and hinted that Mr Ambani might meet with US officials. Given that Ambani runs Reliance, “he will be there,” Goh reportedly said.
Later, in an interview with Indian media NDTV, Goh said his visit to Jamnagar had been scheduled in view of Reliance’s “incredible” investments in US refinery projects. Reliance did not respond to an email sent by CNBC seeking details about the visit. The State Department did not respond to CNBC’s questions sent after hours.
Arpit Chaturvedi, South Asia advisor at strategic advisory firm Teneo, told CNBC that the U.S. is facing unusually high diesel prices ahead of the November midterm elections, and the Trump administration is looking for ways to increase fuel availability.
Jamnagar has “significant export-oriented refining capacity”, making it a strong case for the US to seek supply of refined products, including diesel, he added.
Ambani, who SpaceX founder Elon Musk called India’s real boss last week, has developed a relationship with the Trump administration. In March, US President Donald Trump thanked Reliance for its “huge investment” in the first new US refinery project in 50 years.
Reliance, majority-owned by the Ambani family, has emerged as the second-largest buyer of Venezuelan oil outside the United States, even though the Indian state-owned company remains largely unfazed by President Trump’s appeals to increase purchases of Venezuelan oil.
Atman Trivedi, a partner at Washington-based DGA Albright Stonebridge Group, said Mr. Rubio would also use the visit to highlight “Reliance’s plans for a major new refinery in Texas, a battleground for the US midterm elections that has garnered national attention.”
Reliance is also well-positioned to sell diesel and other refined petroleum products to the US, he added.
According to Reliance, the Jamnagar refinery is the world’s largest and most complex single-site refinery with a capacity of 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day.
