Reliance to Back $300B Texas Refinery, First New U.S. Plant in 50 Years

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that India’s energy giant Reliance Industries will support a major refinery project planned in Texas, marking what he described as the first new oil refinery to be built in the United States in roughly five decades.

According to Trump, the refinery will be developed at the Port of Brownsville in Texas and is expected to represent a project with an overall economic value of around $300 billion. The facility is set to be developed by America First Refining with financial backing from international partners, including Reliance Industries.

The planned refinery is designed primarily to process U.S. light shale crude, reflecting the rapid growth in domestic shale oil production over the past decade. Reports indicate that long‑term agreements could involve processing about 1.2 billion barrels of U.S. shale oil, with an estimated value of roughly $125 billion.

Once operational, the refinery is expected to strengthen domestic refining capacity, support U.S. energy security and create thousands of jobs in South Texas. Officials also say the project could redirect tens of millions of barrels of U.S. crude annually into domestic refining while boosting economic activity and the broader energy supply chain.