President Trump, seeking to reverse the longtime decline in U.S.-based oil refining, is taking credit for a new oil refinery set to open in Brownsville, Texas.
The America First Refining project, when completed, will become the first new oil refinery in the United States in nearly 50 years.
The company signed an agreement to purchase and process 1.2 billion barrels of U.S. light shale oil, or 60 million barrels per year, at the facility.
“A new Refinery at the Port of Brownsville will fuel U.S. Markets, strengthen our National Security, boost American Energy production, deliver Billions of Dollars in Economic impact, and will be THE CLEANEST REFINERY IN THE WORLD,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The project will break ground in April, according to Brownsville government officials.
Oil refineries typically take up to five years to build. Mr. Trump credited his own deregulation and pro-energy policies with attracting funding for the massive project.
The Brownsville refinery deal is worth $300 billion, Mr. Trump said, and will be funded by investments from Reliance Industry, headed by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. The big investment from Mr. Ambani follows previous failed attempts by U.S. company officials to raise enough money to build the refinery.
Building a refinery has become more attractive under the Trump administration.
“It is because of our America First Agenda, streamlining Permits, and lowering Taxes, that have attracted Billions of Dollars in Deals coming back to our Nation,” Mr. Trump said.
Company Chairman John V. Calce said construction and operation of the project will create thousands of “high-quality jobs,” and will produce “the cleanest, most efficient refinery on the planet.”
U.S. oil refining has been on the decline for years. Refinery closures were prompted in part by the COVID-19 pandemic quarantines, which drastically reduced demand. Refineries also shuttered, reduced capacity or converted to refining renewable fuels amid stricter government regulations on emissions and the push to convert to electric vehicles.
In California, increasing regulations and anti-fossil fuel policies are forcing oil refineries to close down, which has, in turn, caused gasoline prices to spike.
The state’s oil refineries have plummeted from around 40 in the 1980s to a dozen currently as the state has increased regulations and ramped up fines for pollution and safety violations.
California is set to lose an additional 17% of its oil refining capacity this year because of the closure of several refineries, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported.
In one example, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board jointly issued a record $82 million fine against Valero Refining Co. in October 2024 for unreported emissions of harmful organic compounds at their Benicia refinery.
America First Refining officials said the slowdown in oil refining throughout the United States is costing consumers.
From 2014 to 2024, the U.S. exported nearly 10 billion barrels of crude, but imported roughly 28 billion barrels, which cost American consumers and workers more than $1.8 trillion, according to the company.
The AFR refinery, once completed, will redirect up to 60 million barrels of U.S. crude annually back into domestic refining, which will benefit American companies and improve energy security by reducing reliance on imports, they said.
The cost of building a new refinery is staggering, and is part of the reason companies have been reluctant to launch new projects.
Instead, some existing U.S. refineries are expanding capacity and increasing efficiency to boost output.
U.S. refining capacity is not meeting demand, but it increased slightly from 2022 to 2024 with expansions alone, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Capacity was added at the three largest existing refiners in the U.S., all located on the Gulf Coast.
