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White House weighs how to use Defense Production Act to expand US oil refining capacity, sources say

White House officials are considering federal incentives to add refinery capacity as utilization reaches 98% and fuel prices stay elevated.

  • The White House is weighing whether to use the Defense Production Act to expand U.S. oil refining capacity, responding to fuel-price spikes caused by the Iran conflict.
  • Fuel prices have climbed above $6 a gallon as U.S. refiners operate at 98% utilization, leaving little room to increase output without new capacity.
  • America First Refining's proposed 168,000-barrel-per-day facility at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, has emerged as a test case, though the project faces scrutiny for ties to President Donald Trump's family and administration.
  • During a recent meeting, refining executives told Trump that federal money should support making existing plants more efficient rather than financing entirely new refineries, which take years to complete.
  • Trump recently secured a 35% equity stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, while India's Reliance Industries agreed to a 20-year deal to purchase the refinery's output.
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The White House is studying the use of the Defense Production Act to increase refining capacity and contain fuel prices with Iran's war, through the development of existing refineries, while the refineries are currently operating at 98% of their capacity and no final decision has been taken.

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Oil Price broke the news in New York, United States on Friday, September 11, 2026.
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