Reliance to invest in new Texas refinery: Trump announces $300-bn deal
US oil refinery project: Donald Trump has said Reliance Industries will back a $300 billion refinery in Texas, the first new US refinery planned in 50 years.
US President Donald Trump has announced a new refinery in Brownsville, Texas, thanking India’s private sector refining giant Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for its “tremendous investment” for the project. According to Trump, the Brownsville refinery, the first new refinery in the US in five decades, entails a $300-billon deal.
The refinery will be built by America First Refining, which plans to break ground on the project in the April-June quarter this year. The RIL owns and operates the world’s largest single-location refining complex in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.
“America is returning to REAL ENERGY DOMINANCE! 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. THIS IS A HISTORIC $300 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL — THE BIGGEST IN U.S. HISTORY, A MASSIVE WIN for American Workers, Energy, and the GREAT People of South Texas! Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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. 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. It will power Global Exports, and bring THOUSANDS of long overdue Jobs and Growth to a Region that deserves it. This is what AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE looks like. AMERICA FIRST, ALWAYS!” he said.
The RIL has not yet responded to Trump’s announcement. It comes at a time when there is a sharp spike in crude oil and fuel prices; crude had crossed the $100 per barrel mark Monday amid the raging conflict in West Asia that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Although the refinery will take years to be built, it is being seen as a signal from Trump amid increasing fuel prices in the US with mid-term elections in the country just a few months away. The last major refinery built in the United States was the Marathon Refinery, built way back in 1976, when oil cost under $5 a barrel.
For Reliance, diversifying into American shale refining hedges against the problems in the West Asian route. RIL already gets Venezuelan crude as a hedge.
The refinery project was being developed by Element Fuels, which had announced in 2024 that it received the requisite permissions to build a refinery. Element Fuels and America First Refining appear to be the same entity, or closely related to each other. Notably, Element Fuels website now redirects to that of America First Refining, and Element Fuels’s Founder and Chairman John V. Calce holds the same position at America First Refining.
“In February, America First Refining received a 9-figure investment from a global supermajor at a 10-figure valuation. AFR also signed a binding 20-year offtake term sheet with the same global supermajor that secures commitments to purchase, process, and distribute American-produced energy exclusively sourced from American shale oil. The company will officially break ground on the new refinery in Q2 2026,” America First Refining said. It didn’t name the “global supermajor”, but Trump’s comments suggest that it is RIL.
As for the $300-billion deal that Trump mentioned, it appears that it is the value of crude oil that the refinery will process and the fuels it will produce over 20 years. According to America First Refining, under the agreement, 1.2 billion barrels of US light shale oil with an estimated value of $125 billion will be purchased and processed by the 60-million-barrels-per-year refinery, and 50 billion gallons of refined products—worth $175 billion—will be produced. “The US trade imbalance will improve by $300 billion,” America First Refining said, indicating that the facility could be geared for exports. The proposed location of the refinery – Brownsville port – also suggests that the refinery could be export-oriented.
A bulk of American refineries are designed to process crudes that are much heavier than the shale oil that the US produces in large quantities. This leads to the US, despite being a top oil producer globally, importing large volumes of heavy crudes from other geographies and exporting its own shale oil.
“The refinery is specifically engineered to process American light shale oil, which is cleaner, more efficient, and less costly to process than heavier imported crude. Unlike many existing US refineries that depend on foreign oil, this facility is not dependent on – and does not need – imported crude, which strengthens US national and economic security,” America First Refining said.
“From 2014 to 2024, the United States exported nearly 10 billion barrels of crude while still importing roughly 28 billion barrels, costing American consumers and workers more than $1.8 trillion. Once operational, the AFR refinery will redirect up to 60 million barrels of U.S. crude annually back into domestic refining – strengthening American industry, energy security, and economic growth,” it said.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
US President Donald Trump has announced a new refinery in Brownsville, Texas, thanking India’s private sector refining giant Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for its “tremendous investment” for the project. According to Trump, the Brownsville refinery, the first new refinery in the US in five decades, entails a $300-billon deal.
The refinery will be built by America First Refining, which plans to break ground on the project in the April-June quarter this year. The RIL owns and operates the world’s largest single-location refining complex in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.
“America is returning to REAL ENERGY DOMINANCE! 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. THIS IS A HISTORIC $300 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL — THE BIGGEST IN U.S. HISTORY, A MASSIVE WIN for American Workers, Energy, and the GREAT People of South Texas! Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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. 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. It will power Global Exports, and bring THOUSANDS of long overdue Jobs and Growth to a Region that deserves it. This is what AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE looks like. AMERICA FIRST, ALWAYS!” he said.
The RIL has not yet responded to Trump’s announcement. It comes at a time when there is a sharp spike in crude oil and fuel prices; crude had crossed the $100 per barrel mark Monday amid the raging conflict in West Asia that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Although the refinery will take years to be built, it is being seen as a signal from Trump amid increasing fuel prices in the US with mid-term elections in the country just a few months away. The last major refinery built in the United States was the Marathon Refinery, built way back in 1976, when oil cost under $5 a barrel.
For Reliance, diversifying into American shale refining hedges against the problems in the West Asian route. RIL already gets Venezuelan crude as a hedge.
The refinery project was being developed by Element Fuels, which had announced in 2024 that it received the requisite permissions to build a refinery. Element Fuels and America First Refining appear to be the same entity, or closely related to each other. Notably, Element Fuels website now redirects to that of America First Refining, and Element Fuels’s Founder and Chairman John V. Calce holds the same position at America First Refining.
“In February, America First Refining received a 9-figure investment from a global supermajor at a 10-figure valuation. AFR also signed a binding 20-year offtake term sheet with the same global supermajor that secures commitments to purchase, process, and distribute American-produced energy exclusively sourced from American shale oil. The company will officially break ground on the new refinery in Q2 2026,” America First Refining said. It didn’t name the “global supermajor”, but Trump’s comments suggest that it is RIL.
As for the $300-billion deal that Trump mentioned, it appears that it is the value of crude oil that the refinery will process and the fuels it will produce over 20 years. According to America First Refining, under the agreement, 1.2 billion barrels of US light shale oil with an estimated value of $125 billion will be purchased and processed by the 60-million-barrels-per-year refinery, and 50 billion gallons of refined products—worth $175 billion—will be produced. “The US trade imbalance will improve by $300 billion,” America First Refining said, indicating that the facility could be geared for exports. The proposed location of the refinery – Brownsville port – also suggests that the refinery could be export-oriented.
A bulk of American refineries are designed to process crudes that are much heavier than the shale oil that the US produces in large quantities. This leads to the US, despite being a top oil producer globally, importing large volumes of heavy crudes from other geographies and exporting its own shale oil.
“The refinery is specifically engineered to process American light shale oil, which is cleaner, more efficient, and less costly to process than heavier imported crude. Unlike many existing US refineries that depend on foreign oil, this facility is not dependent on – and does not need – imported crude, which strengthens US national and economic security,” America First Refining said.
“From 2014 to 2024, the United States exported nearly 10 billion barrels of crude while still importing roughly 28 billion barrels, costing American consumers and workers more than $1.8 trillion. Once operational, the AFR refinery will redirect up to 60 million barrels of U.S. crude annually back into domestic refining – strengthening American industry, energy security, and economic growth,” it said.
