US President Trump announced on March 11, 2026 (via Truth Social) that America First Refining will build the first new major U.S. oil refinery in nearly 50 years.

The project is a 168,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) greenfield refinery at the Port of Brownsville, Texas — a deep-water port with rail and sea access ideal for exports and logistics.

Confirmed Project Details (as of April 11, 2026)

Design focus: Built specifically to process light, sweet U.S. shale oil (primarily from the Permian Basin and other domestic fracking plays). Many existing Gulf Coast refineries were reconfigured over the past 40+ years for heavier, sour imported crudes from Canada, Venezuela, or Mexico — creating a mismatch with America’s growing surplus of lighter domestic crude.

Scale: 20-year offtake agreement to process 1.2 billion barrels of U.S. shale oil (producing ~50 billion gallons of refined products like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel). Trump called it a “historic $300 billion deal — the biggest in U.S. history.”

Partners: Backed by capital and long-term commitments from India’s Reliance Industries (world’s largest refining complex operator). The deal is framed as helping reduce the U.S. trade deficit with India while keeping crude supply and refining benefits domestic.

Timeline: Groundbreaking targeted for Q2 2026 (as early as April). Larger units expected onsite by 2028; fuel sales potentially starting 2029. Full commissioning for a project this size typically takes 5–7 years.

Benefits claimed: Thousands of constructions + permanent high-wage jobs in South Texas; enhanced energy security (no foreign heavy crude needed); increased domestic refining capacity; and “the cleanest refinery in the world” via modern tech.

Important Realism Check

“First in 50 years” is accurate for a major greenfield refinery: No comparable new standalone U.S. refinery has broken ground since the 1970s. Capacity has grown via expansions/debottlenecking of existing plants, but not new large-scale builds — largely due to regulatory, environmental, and economic hurdles.

Project history note: The site/development concept originated earlier (as Element Fuels/Hydrogen-powered plans in 2024) and was rebranded as America First Refining in late 2025. Trump’s announcement provided high-profile momentum via permitting/tax policy signals.

Challenges remain: Permitting, local/environmental opposition (common near the border), construction costs, and global oil markets could still shift timelines or economics. No groundbreaking has been confirmed in the ~30 days since announcement.

This fits Trump’s “America First” energy push amid record U.S. shale production and occasional refining bottlenecks that have led to exporting crude while importing some products. Supporters see it as unlocking domestic supply chains; skeptics note long lead times and foreign investment elements.