Trump announces new US oil refinery with investment from Reliance

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 11, 2026: President Donald Trump said the US will get its first new oil refinery in 50 years with the help of investment from India’s Reliance Industries Ltd.

"I am proud to announce that America First Refining is opening the FIRST new US Oil Refinery in 50 YEARS in Brownsville, Texas," Trump said Tuesday in a post on Truth Social.

The announcement came as the White House sought to quell concerns about rising energy prices due to the war in Iran. Trump is weighing several possible options to lower the cost of oil and gasoline, including the release of inventories from emergency reserves, as well as military escorts for tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Texas refinery is the same project that was being developed by Element Fuels, which announced in June 2024 it had completed site preparation and received the necessary permits to construct a plant capable of processing about 160,000 barrels of oil daily. Element Fuels’ web address now redirects to the website for America First Refining, the company Trump said will open the new refinery.

The company plans to break ground on the new refinery in the second quarter of this year and has already signed a 20-year agreement to sell the fuels it produces, according to a Tuesday statement from America First Refining. The sales deal was made with Reliance.

Representatives for Reliance couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The Energy Department referred questions to the White House, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for more details.

The Trump administration is pursuing a policy of US energy dominance, which promotes increased production of oil, natural gas and coal. But while US oil output has surged over the past decade and a half on the back of the shale revolution, the nation relies on an aging array of refineries. Several of the plants have also shut down in recent years, adding to tightness in processing capacity.

The Brownsville refinery will be designed to run entirely on US shale oil, America First said Tuesday.

Previous efforts to revive greenfield refinery construction in the US have fizzled in the face of massive costs, complicated federal and state permitting requirements and environmental opposition. In the mid-2000s, a $2.5 billion plan from Arizona Clean Fuels Yuma to construct a new facility that would process Mexican or Canadian crude south of Phoenix floundered after backers failed to attract sufficient financing.