October 22, 2026: US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is currently in India, visiting not New Delhi, but rather the city of Mumbai and the town of Jamnagar, where he is set to spend a good amount of time with executives of the Indian business giant, Reliance Industries, including its Chairperson, Mukesh Ambani. It was in the course of this visit that Rubio made an interesting remark. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Secretary of State called India a "refining superpower.

India presents a curious case in the global oil industry. Countries with extensive refining networks often have substantial crude oil resources of their own, as seen in the US, Russia and several Persian Gulf nations.

India, in contrast, does not have that resource advantage. Its own crude reserves in Gujarat, Assam, Rajasthan, Mumbai High and the Krishna-Godavari basin are insufficient to meet the country's energy demands. In the financial year 2025-26, India imported around 89% of the crude oil it consumed, according to government data.

(Source: India Today)