Since Indian Company Is Investing In Brownsville Refinery, Trump Makes Farty Mouth Noises About ENERGY DOMINANCE 'MURCA!

Trump claimed a “massive win” this week when he announced that the Indian private energy company Reliance Industries is investing in a proposed oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas. Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to announce the “FIRST new U.S. Oil Refinery in 50 YEARS” would be built in the coastal city. While plans for the refinery aren’t new—they date back a decade—Trump hopes to claim credit if the refinery is finally built.

The president is looking for a win as the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran drives up global energy prices. Brownsville environmentalists, who previously challenged the refinery’s permit application, denounced the refinery as a “zombie” project that will pollute the air and waterways. “Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment,” the president wrote on Tuesday. “This is what AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE looks like. AMERICA FIRST, ALWAYS!”

The project was originally developed by Jupiter Brownsville LLC, which obtained state permits in 2021. Houston-based Element Fuels took over the project in January 2024, according to regulatory filings. In December 2025, America First Refining, which shares the same ownership, took over from Element Fuels.

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harles McConnell, a former assistant energy secretary with the Obama administration who now teaches at the University of Houston, said that the Texas Gulf Coast has long played an essential role in the global oil refinery industry. He said that energy companies like Reliance, which sources most of its crude oil in the Middle East, are reconsidering their investment strategies as the war in Iran threatens access to oil in that region. “This is an obvious opportunity for [Reliance],” he said. A Brownsville refinery would make the company “less dependent on less-dependable places,” he said. But McConnell said that it is still too early to tell if the refinery will be built.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12032026/trump-brownsville-texas-oil-refinery/