White House Eyes Reopening Closed Oil Refineries
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- The Trump administration is looking to reopen closed oil refineries across the country, including an embattled facility in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, according to a White House official who confirmed the plan to The Hill by email Thursday.
- Gasoline prices have risen amid the Iran war, which the source identifies as the spur for the administration's refinery reopening push.
- The St. Croix refinery is described as "embattled" in the source, indicating a troubled operational or financial history, and was specifically named in the White House's quoted statement.
- The White House said it "would like to see refineries across the country reopen, especially the St. [Croix]" facility, per the email statement shared with The Hill (the quote is truncated in the available text).
Why it matters: With gasoline prices climbing amid the Iran war, the administration is framing refinery reopenings — including a specific Virgin Islands facility — as its domestic response to a pocketbook issue hitting drivers. The 'embattled' label on the St. Croix site is the buried tell: the priority facility is also the troubled one, complicating any quick price-relief story the White House wants to sell.
