Trump States U.S. to Unveil First New Oil Refinery in Nearly 50 Years Amid U.S. Military’s Avoidance of Bombing Iran’s Oil Infrastructure

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“American energy dominance is back under President Trump” is stated in a White House statement regarding the administration’s latest attempt to assert energy superiority, at a time when energy costs are surging and oil stocks are falling. And now, Trump may very well keep his promise by taking a traditional approach: backing the nation’s first new oil refinery in nearly 50 years.

With the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran entering its second week and ongoing, Trump feels pressure to find alternatives to Middle Eastern oil supplies, and he may have found one. He announced on social media on Tuesday that a new oil refinery will be built in Brownsville, Texas, and India’s Reliance Industries, India’s largest privately-owned energy company and operator of the world’s biggest refining complex, is in discussions to support the project.

This announcement comes as crude oil prices spiked to $114.38 last weekend, and Trump’s voters are growing discontent with high gas prices. The administration had aimed to use low gas prices as a key victory in their midterm election campaigns, but the war continues to undercut the president’s affordability plans.

The new refinery could enhance U.S. energy independence and help maintain its status as a net petroleum exporter. In 2025, the U.S. exported an average of 2.2 million barrels per day to approximately 170 countries, while also meeting 60% of domestic demand.

Strategically, the U.S. has been cautious to refrain from bombing Iranian oil infrastructure, despite the military targeting around 5,000 other facilities, including military ships and weapons factories, as reported by The Guardian. Severe damage to Iran’s infrastructure—specifically Kharg Island, through which 90% of Iranian oil exports pass—would drive up already rising oil prices.

Nonetheless, Israel targeted multiple oil refineries and depots on Saturday, causing toxic black smoke to blanket Tehran. On Tuesday, Iranian officials threatened to prevent “even a single liter of oil” from passing through the Strait of Hormuz for the U.S., Israel, or their allies. Approximately 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through this strait, which leads to the Persian Gulf.

First refinery opening in 50 years

The developer, America First Refining, states that the new refinery is scheduled to begin construction in the second quarter of 2026. The company’s statement reads, “This opening was made possible by the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and the success of his America First energy agenda.”

This refinery is the same project previously developed by Element Fuels Holdings, a Texas startup whose website now forwards to America First Refining. In June 2024, Element Fuels announced that site preparation was finished and it was set to build a plant capable of processing about 160,000 barrels of oil per day. The Financial Times reports that if completed, this refinery would be the first new one since a Garyville, Louisiana facility owned by MarathonPetroleum Corporation (MPC), the nation’s largest refiner processing about three million barrels daily, began operation in 1977.

The president posted on social media that the project is “A HISTORIC $300 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL”.

According to the statement, under the agreement with Indian energy giant Reliance, America First Refining will buy and process 1.2 billion barrels of U.S. light shale oil, valued at $125 billion. The company anticipates producing 50 billion gallons of refined oil products worth $175 billion, as per the statement. At the 2024 rate of 160,000 barrels per day, producing that amount of oil would take the company over 850 years. The statement also mentions that America First Refining’s current contract to sell and distribute the fuels it produces is 20 years in duration.

Mukesh Ambani, the owner of Reliance, is an investor in Trump’s real estate firm and even attended his second inauguration. Last year, Indian oil companies faced criticism from the Trump administration after purchasing Russian oil instead of costlier Middle Eastern oil. Amid the war, the administration has granted the country a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil that is currently stranded at sea

As of 2025, the Energy Information Administration reports that the U.S. has 131 operational oil refineries. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that at the end of 2024, the U.S. refining capacity was 18.4 million barrels per day. Since October, two California refineries with a combined capacity of 284,000 barrels per day have announced plans to close permanently, citing the state’s regulation of fossil fuel industries, as reported by Reuters.