US President Donald Trump on Tuesday thanked India and its largest privately held energy company, Reliance, for backing what he described as a historic investment to build the first new oil refinery in the US in half a century.
Announcing the project in a post on Truth Social, he said the refinery will be built in Brownsville, Texas, as part of a USD 300 billion deal aimed at boosting American energy production and strengthening economic ties with international partners.
However, it was not immediately clear if Trump meant that the refinery was part of a bigger pact with India.
“Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment,” Trump said while unveiling the project.
Trump described the project as a major milestone for the country’s energy sector, saying it would mark the first new US oil refinery in 50 years.
“America is returning to REAL ENERGY DOMINANCE,” Trump said. “Today I am proud to announce that America First Refining is opening the FIRST new U.S. Oil Refinery in 50 YEARS in Brownsville, Texas.”
He called the initiative “a historic $300 billion deal — the biggest in US history”, adding that it would create thousands of jobs and drive economic growth in South Texas.
Trump said the refinery, planned at the Port of Brownsville, will help fuel domestic markets and increase exports while strengthening US national security.
“A new refinery at the Port of Brownsville will fuel U.S. markets, strengthen our national security and boost American energy production,” Trump said.
He also claimed the facility would become “the cleanest refinery in the world” while delivering billions of dollars in economic impact.
Trump credited his administration’s policies for attracting large-scale investment into the US energy sector.
“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,” he wrote.
The US president said the project would generate thousands of jobs and bring long-awaited economic development to the region.
“It will power Global Exports, and bring THOUSANDS of long overdue Jobs and Growth to a Region that deserves it,” Trump said in the post.
“This is what AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE looks like. AMERICA FIRST, ALWAYS!” he added.
In 2024, Element Fuels Holdings, a Dallas-area startup proposing to build the first all-new US oil refinery in nearly 50 years, said it was relaunching efforts to build a large plant in Brownsville, news agency Reuters noted.
Notably, Trump’s announcement came amid the raging conflict between Iran and the joint front of Israel and the US in the Middle East.
The ongoing war has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), leaving tankers unable to sail for more than a week and forcing producers to halt pumping as storage fills.
The fallout from the conflict has sent global crude prices soaring, with fears of prolonged supply disruptions to global oil transit through the strategic waterway.