What happened in this Energy story?

The Trump administration is exploring whether to invoke the Defense Production Act to expand US oil refining capacity, as the Iran conflict and refineries already running at 98% push diesel above $6 a gallon ahead of November's midterms.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**The White House** is weighing whether to invoke the Defense Production Act to expand US oil refining capacity, motivated by the Iran conflict's exposure of the country's vulnerability to global crude supply disruptions and price spikes.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**The proposal** emerged from a recent meeting between President Trump and nearly a dozen US refiners, where executives told officials federal money would be better spent improving efficiency or expanding existing plants rather than financing a new refinery that would cost significantly more and take years.

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White House Weighs Defense Production Act for Refining — SkimNews

By Straits Times Asia · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-11

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The White House is weighing whether to invoke the Defense Production Act to expand US oil refining capacity, motivated by the Iran conflict's exposure of the country's vulnerability to global crude supply disruptions and price spikes.
The proposal emerged from a recent meeting between President Trump and nearly a dozen US refiners, where executives told officials federal money would be better spent improving efficiency or expanding existing plants rather than financing a new refinery that would cost significantly more and take years.
The Defense Production Act has never been used to add refining capacity, though an April presidential determination already authorized its use to support petroleum production, refining, and logistics.
US refineries are running at 98% utilization — near maximum levels — even as the national average diesel price has climbed above $6 a gallon for the first time and US refining capacity has shrunk over the past decade as unprofitable plants shut.
Trump recently secured a 35% US government equity stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, a Venezuelan oil company with rights to develop 17 oil fields holding about 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, giving the US rights to 20% of the company's output at production cost.
America First Refining's proposed 168,000-barrel-per-day Port of Brownsville, Texas facility — announced by Trump in March as the first new US refinery in nearly 50 years — has emerged as a test case, with Donald Trump Jr. listed as a passive minority investor and Cantor Fitzgerald, led by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, serving as financial adviser.

Why it matters: With refineries at 98% capacity and diesel above $6 a gallon, Trump's push to expand domestic refining doubles as a midterm political response to voter affordability concerns. The test-case Brownsville refinery carries direct administration financial ties — Donald Trump Jr. is a passive investor and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's Cantor Fitzgerald is advising the company.