Vice President JD Vance announced Trump administration plans to work with Delek US Holdings Inc. to expand a refinery in Texas, the latest energy investment highlighted as a way to lower fuel prices before the November midterm elections.
During a campaign stop in Tyler, Texas, Vance said the effort would tap the 1950 Defense Production Act. President Donald Trump has invoked the Cold War-era law to finance a range of energy projects in the US as his administration faces pressure from voters to bring down costs that are squeezing household budgets.
“I am pleased to announce that the Trump administration, working with the refinery at Delek, has used the Defense Production Act, and we are going to expand the refinery right here in Tyler, Texas,” Vance said Tuesday.
Delek’s Tyler refinery southeast of Dallas is among the smallest in the country, with capacity to process 74,000 barrels a day.
While the scope of the investment is unclear, the effort marks yet another step in the Trump administration’s plans to enhance refinery capacity in the country amid high fuel prices. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet public, cast the Tyler facility as one of many refineries the administration has been working with to award DPA funds.
The Trump administration has sought to boost the production of gasoline and diesel as global conflicts strain the world’s fuel supplies. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with attacks from Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi facilities, have laid bare just how vulnerable global fuel markets are to geopolitical disruptions. Diesel prices at the pump remain near record levels, while gasoline prices are up 41% from a year ago.
The DPA grants presidents sweeping authority to shape domestic industries in the name of bolstering national security. Trump laid the foundation for the effort when he issued presidential determinations under the law in April targeting support for domestic coal power, liquefied natural gas, domestic petroleum and power-grid infrastructure, arguing shortfalls in each area threatened national defense.
New fuel supplies, however, would not come overnight, as refining projects typically take years to complete. A major new oil refinery hasn’t been built in the US since the late 1970s.
High costs of living, including for fuels, are a top concern for voters ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3, with polls showing the electorate has soured on Trump’s handling of the economy and war against Iran. The president’s party is at risk of losing their grip on Congress in the midterm vote.
The president has been taking steps to help bring down energy prices, including a deal with Russia to unlock diesel supplies from one of the world’s largest producers and eased limits on a tax-exempt variety of that fuel.