Trump announces Reliance’s investment in new US refinery, Mukesh Ambani firm stays silent

MUMBAI: In the wee hours of Wednesday, India time, President Donald Trump announced that Reliance Industries Ltd will partner America First Refining to set up the first new refinery in the US in nearly 50 years, in a deal valued at $300 billion.

Reliance Industries, however, had not confirmed the development as of press time. Shares initially surged but reversed to close 1.27% lower at ₹1,391.1 apiece on the BSE, while the Sensex ended 1.72% down.

“Today I am proud to announce that America First Refining is opening the first new US oil refinery in 50 years in Brownsville, Texas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held energy company, Reliance, for this tremendous investment.”

Separately, America First Refining said that it received a “9-figure investment from a global supermajor at a 10-figure valuation,” in February without naming the investor. (A 10-figure valuation ranges between $1-9.9 billion; a 9-figure investment between $100-999 million.)

The company also said it had signed a binding 20-year offtake term sheet with the unnamed investor.

Reliance did not respond to Mint’s requests for comment and did not clarify whether it had made, or intended to make, any investment. The lack of confirmation from Reliance and the anonymity of America First’s investor leaves unclear the Indian company’s role in the project.

Trump’s announcement comes as Reliance pursues a $10-billion investment to diversify from petroleum into renewable energy near its Jamnagar refinery, including solar panels, green hydrogen, and other clean technologies. Last month, chairman Mukesh Ambani also announced plans to invest ₹10 trillion over seven years in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, including data centres.

India’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of ₹18.8 trillion, Reliance runs the world’s largest refinery complex in Jamnagar, processing 1.2 million barrels per day.

Scepticism and confusion

America First Refining added that construction would begin before June. The refinery is expected to process 60 million barrels of US light shale oil annually, totalling 1.2 billion barrels worth $125 billion over two decades. It would produce 50 billion gallons of refined products valued at $175 billion.

"This project represents a historic step forward for American energy production," said John V. Calce, chairman and founder of America First Refining. "For the first time in half a century, the US will build a new refinery designed specifically for American shale oil. Thanks to President Trump's leadership and the resurgence of an America First energy policy, we are creating thousands of high-quality jobs while ensuring more of our nation's energy resources are refined here at home in the cleanest, most efficient refinery on the planet."

However, experts are sceptical.

“Color me incredibly skeptical about this coming to pass. Conceivably, this would be an export facility moving lots of fuel to Latin America. But $300-billion—you could have picked up the CITGO assets (great assets!) for a fraction of the cost,” Tom Kloza, a New Jersey-based independent energy analyst wrote on social media platform X.

CITGO Petroleum Corp. is a major US-based refiner and marketer of transportation fuels which is owned by Venezuela's state-owned company PDVSA and is presently undergoing a lengthy sale process.

"Initial announcements like this by the Trump administration have a ‌lot of ⁠hyperbole," Refined Fuels Analytics' managing director John Auers told Reuters.