Trump declares domestic oil refining and pipelines essential to national defense under Defense Production Act
A presidential determination dated Oct. 22 opens Defense Production Act Title III money to petroleum production, refining and logistics. The Energy Department says it plans to spend up to $150 million and has not yet chosen the projects.
SignalData ·
President Donald Trump has determined that U.S. petroleum production, refining and logistics capacity is essential to the national defense, a finding that opens federal Defense Production Act money to oil projects. The memorandum, which the Energy Department identifies as Presidential Determination No. 2026-11, is dated Oct. 22, 2026, and was posted on the White House website.12
The Energy Department said the same day that the president plans to provide up to $150 million in Title III funding under the act for petroleum production, storage and logistics projects at U.S. refineries. The department’s headline says the money will be used to restart a refinery and expand refining capacity; the release does not name a refinery. It says the selection process is still underway and that selections will be announced later.2
What the determination says
The memorandum is addressed to the Secretary of War. It cites Executive Order 14156, the national energy emergency Trump declared on Jan. 20, 2025, and says the military, the industrial base and critical infrastructure all depend on petroleum.1
Under Section 303(a)(5) of the act, the president finds that exploration and production, gathering and transmission pipelines, storage and marine terminals are industrial resources essential to the national defense; that industry cannot be expected to provide them in a timely way because of constrained financing, long lead times, permitting bottlenecks and supply chain limits; and that Section 303 purchases or financial support are the most practical way to meet the need.1
Citing Section 303(a)(7), the memorandum waives the requirements of Sections 303(a)(1) through (a)(6) to expand that capacity. It directs the secretary to carry it out, including through purchases, commitments and financial instruments, and to publish it in the Federal Register.1
The Energy Department’s statement
The department said the funding is expected to raise U.S. refining output “by millions of gallons per day” and that the effort would boost U.S. output of fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. It said $1 billion in federal funding has been appropriated, under the law the administration calls the Working Families Tax Cuts, for energy projects the government considers critical to national security.2
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in the release that the money would be used “in partnership with private industry” to bolster existing energy infrastructure.2
Separate reserve exchange
On Friday, Oct. 23, the Energy Department authorized an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s West Hackberry site to the Phillips 66 Lake Charles Refinery in Louisiana, which it said faces a disruption in crude deliveries. The company must return the oil with additional barrels, the department said.3
The exchange release does not mention the Defense Production Act or the presidential determination, and the department did not say the two actions are related.3
Fuel prices
The U.S. average retail price of regular gasoline was $4.284 a gallon for the week of Oct. 19, down 4.7 cents from the week before and up $1.265 from a year earlier, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Oct. 20. On-highway diesel averaged $6.276 a gallon, up 9.7 cents from the prior week and up $2.656 from a year earlier.4
In the agency’s spot price data released Oct. 21, West Texas Intermediate crude at Cushing, Oklahoma, was $107.89 a barrel on Oct. 20, and Brent crude was $115.22 a barrel.5
What the records do not show
- Which refinery would be restarted, or which companies or projects will receive money.2
- How the work is divided between the Secretary of War, to whom the memorandum is addressed, and the Energy Department, which announced the funding.12
- How the department calculated its estimate of added refining output.2
- When the determination will be published in the Federal Register, as the memorandum directs.1
- What caused the recent changes in fuel prices; the EIA price tables report prices without addressing causes.4
Sources
Records are the government documents themselves. Reporting is other newsrooms’ work, credited here; we write our own account and do not reuse their words.
- RecordPresidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Domestic Petroleum Production, Refining, and Logistics Capacity. The White House, Oct. 22, 2026.
- RecordEnergy Department to Use Defense Production Act Funding to Restart American Refinery and Expand Refining Capacity. U.S. Department of Energy, Oct. 22, 2026.
- RecordEnergy Department Authorizes Strategic Petroleum Reserve Exchange to Support Fuel Supply Stability. U.S. Department of Energy, Oct. 23, 2026.
- RecordGasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Oct. 20, 2026.
- RecordSpot Prices for Crude Oil and Petroleum Products. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Oct. 21, 2026.
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