The mantra "drill, baby drill" has now resulted in "refine, baby, refine." This week, President Trump announced the construction of the first new U.S. oil refinery in nearly 50 years, to be built where else, but right here in Texas. The $300 billion America First Refining facility is scheduled to break ground later this year in Brownsville. Trump called the project "historic" and a "massive win" for America in his announcement 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," Trump wrote.
The new refinery will specifically be engineered to process light shale oil that comes from Texas, meaning the oil won't have to travel very far once it is out of the ground. "This is a big piece of fantastic news," says Karr Ingham, President of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. "To build a refinery in Texas to process Texas-produced crude oil, and the federal government is now going to pave the way for a project like this, rather than stand in the way of it, which is what we've been doing for years upon years."
Ingham believes this project can signal a new era for domestic energy production, building on the promises Trump made to the oil and gas industry ahead of his second term. "I'm excited about the prospect that we can now consider these kinds of projects in America," says Ingham. "And where better to start than the great oil-producing state of Texas, and the great crude oil-refining and processing state of Texas?"
Photo: Moment RF