Why Trump’s effort to build more refineries won’t lower gas prices
President Donald Trump wants to reverse the decades-long decline in the number of US refineries in operation, which he believes is key to lowering gas prices, and he recently called oil executives to the White House to make that push. “President Trump and his entire energy team will continue supporting reopening shuttered refineries, expanding the … The post Why Trump’s effort to build more…
President Donald Trump aims to reverse the decline in the number of US refineries, believing it would lower gas prices. However, his efforts to reopen shuttered refineries, expand existing ones, and construct new refineries will not bring down prices in the near term. A new refinery with significant capacity hasn't been built in America since 1977, and there were nearly double the number of refineries in 1982 compared to today.
Even if construction began tomorrow, producing gasoline and diesel to alleviate current prices would take years. Oil companies aren't rushing to build refineries as the current market disruptions are temporary, with the spike in gas prices triggered by conflicts in Iran and Ukraine. Refining capacity worldwide is limited, exacerbating the price increase.
Russia and the Middle East, major oil exporters, are experiencing supply disruptions due to war damage, reducing global supply. US refiners are currently operating at nearly full capacity due to high profits, with some companies deferring maintenance to sustain output. However, this can't be sustained in the long term.
Written by urgent.news from Egypt Independent's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
