Mucahithan Avcioglu
March 11, 2026•Update: March 11, 2026
ISTANBUL
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States will build its first new oil refinery in five decades with investment from Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the project as a “historic $300 billion deal — the biggest in U.S. history,” thanking India’s largest private energy company, Reliance Industries, for the investment.
The refinery will be built at the port of Brownsville, Texas, and is expected to process 100% American shale oil. Trump said the project will strengthen US national security, boost domestic energy production and generate billions of dollars in economic impact, while becoming “the cleanest refinery in the world.”
Reliance Industries, which operates the world’s largest refinery complex in Jamnagar, India, has a market capitalization of about $206 billion.
The announcement comes amid heightened volatility in global oil markets driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East. Crude prices surged near $120 per barrel earlier this week before easing.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was trading 2.4% higher at $85.2 per barrel as of 0800 GMT Wednesday, while international Brent crude futures fell 1.8% to $88 per barrel.
The refinery is being developed by America First Refining. The company said it received a nine-figure investment from a global energy major at a 10-figure valuation but did not disclose the investor.
America First Refining also said the same investor has signed a 20-year agreement to purchase, process and distribute US-produced shale oil.
According to the company, the facility will process about 1.2 billion barrels of US light shale oil valued at $125 billion and produce roughly 50 billion gallons of refined products worth around $175 billion.
