Trump Tries to Boost Refining Capacity as Gas Prices Remain High

President Trump met with oil executives at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the recent spike in gas prices. The meeting comes as refineries are operating at nearly full capacity, and US refineries' output is already at over 97% of total capacity. According to data from the US Energy Information Administration, this leaves little redundancy to absorb another major unit going offline.

The White House announced a deal for the US to access 65 billion barrels of oil in Venezuela, with the U.S.-backed oil company North American Blue Energy Partners granted access to 17 oil fields for the next 100 years. The US government has secured a 35% stake in the company at no cost to the American taxpayer and a guarantee to purchase 80% of the company's output from Venezuela.

However, some experts have expressed doubts about the deal. Energy economist Ed Hirs said that the government will effectively 'subsidize and build a competitor' to American companies, which could hurt US oil producers. The Trump administration has also supported efforts to build a new refinery in Brownsville, Texas.