President Donald Trump says the United States could see its first major oil refinery built in almost half a century under a proposed project in Texas backed by India’s largest private energy company, Reliance Industries.
The planned refinery would be located at the Port of Brownsville and developed by US-based firm America First Refining. Trump announced the proposal on social media, describing it as a significant investment linked to expanding domestic shale oil production.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump characterised the plan as “a historic $300 billion deal” and thanked Reliance for what he described as a major investment in the project. The figure reflects the estimated long-term value of crude oil purchases and refined fuel output rather than the refinery’s construction cost.
According to America First Refining, the facility would process roughly 60 million barrels of American light crude a year, sourced entirely from US shale fields.
The company said it had secured a large investment from a global energy group at a multi-billion-dollar valuation and signed a long-term offtake agreement guaranteeing the purchase and distribution of refined products derived from American oil.
While Trump publicly thanked Reliance for the investment, the Indian conglomerate – controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani – did not immediately comment on the announcement.
Reliance operates the world’s largest oil refining complex in Jamnagar and has a market value exceeding US$200 billion.
In 2025, Mukesh Ambani and his wife, Nita Ambani — chair of the Reliance Foundation — posed for photographs with President Trump in Washington, DC, a day before his swearing-in ceremony. The couple had been invited to attend a pre-inauguration dinner with the president.
America First Refining said the Brownsville project could cost up to about US$4 billion to build, meaning additional financing would still be required before construction begins. The company indicated work could start in the coming months if funding and approvals are secured.
If completed, the refinery would be the first major new facility of its kind in the United States since a refinery in Garyville opened in 1977. The US currently has about 132 operating refineries, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, many of which were built decades ago and are designed to process heavier crude from countries such as Canada and Venezuela.
The Brownsville site was originally prepared for a hydrogen-powered refinery project by Element Fuels in 2024. Its founder and chief executive, John Calce, now leads America First Refining and said the project’s name refers to its reliance on domestically produced shale oil rather than a political affiliation.
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