U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Wednesday that a new oil refinery will be built in the port of Brownsville, Texas, a deal that he says will be valued at $300 billion. Trump is calling it the first major U.S. oil refinery to be built in 50 years, and has thanked Indian conglomerate Reliance for its “tremendous” investment.
Operating for more than 60 years, Reliance Industries is a major Indian petrochemicals powerhouse with multiple businesses in retail, energy, materials, and telecommunications services. The company declared an annual revenue of $125 billion in 2025.
Oil company America First Refining will be building the refining facility and, in an official announcement, said that it received “a 9-figure investment from a global supermajor at a 10-figure valuation.”
A major theme of Trump’s policies has been to advocate for bringing production of major essential goods back to America, spurring on policies such as global tariffs, the censoring of India from buying Russian oil, and approving major infrastructure projects through companies either directly owned by or affiliated to him.
The U.S. was an importer of oil for 70 years to supply its energy needs before the discovery of large amounts of shale oil in 2020. Even though it is recognized as a major producer today, it still imports oil in bulk. The new refinery will be drawing on shale oil reserves in the country.
According to Statista, there were 131 active oil refineries in the U.S. at the start of 2025. Of these refineries, a significant portion is located in the state of Texas.
Texas refinery could yield upto 60 million barrels per year
“This project represents a historic step forward for American energy production,” said America First Refining Chairman John. V Calce.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the resurgence of an America First energy policy, we are creating thousands of high-quality jobs while ensuring more of our nation’s energy resources are refined here at home in the cleanest, most efficient refinery on the planet,”
According to America First Refining’s statement, the refinery is expected to yield 1.2 billion barrels of light shale oil valued at $125 billion and 50 billion gallons of refined products valued at $175 billion. The official statement said that once built, the new facility will produce 60 million barrels of oil per year.
“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,” said Trump on Truth Social. “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,”
Oil prices continue to fluctuate rapidly
At the time of writing, Brent Crude and WTI Crude were priced at $87.57 and $83.80, reflecting a dip after crude oil prices rose above $100 on Monday in response to the U.S.-Iran conflict. Murban Crude, which touched $120 previously this week, now sits shy of the $100 mark at $99.57.
After Trump’s involvement in Venezuela and Iran, privatized U.S. and global oil giants are now locked into a market where oil production remains haphazard, creating huge fluctuations in prices. Major oil facilities in the Middle East are also experiencing disruptions in production volumes at this time.