Trump to discuss high fuel prices with oil refiners next week

US President Donald Trump is set to meet US oil refining executives as he confronts persistently high gasoline prices stoked by the war in Iran. The meeting, planned for the afternoon of Sept 1 with representatives of at least 10 fuel makers and distributors, was described by people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because it is private.The session will give Trump an opportunity to hear directly from industry executives about market dynamics, what can be done to lower gasoline prices and how to bolster domestic fuel refining capacity, some of the people said. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Aug 28. Invited companies span the refining spectrum – from large, integrated oil companies to smaller, independent fuel makers. They include Marathon Petroleum Corp., Delek US Holdings Inc., Chevron Corp., PBF Energy Inc. and Valero Energy Corp, according to the people.Elevated prices for fuel and other consumer goods present a political headwind for the president, who has sought to soothe cost-of-living anxieties before the November mid-term elections that will decide control of Congress. Trump took office last on promises to rein in pump prices, but while the nationwide average cost of a gallon of unleaded gas plummeted to US$2.79 in January, it has climbed since the cascade of disruptions in the Middle East that have been a consequence of the Iran war. US fuel prices are at the highest seasonal level ever with gasoline now priced at more than US$4 a gallon and diesel fetching almost US$6 a gallon on average nationwide, according to the American Automobile Association. Gasoline prices have fallen from this year’s peak of more than US$4.50 a gallon in May but remain about US$1 higher than at the Feb 28 start of the war. The meeting also comes as the Trump administration is considering ways to unlock more oil flows from Venezuela. Refiners Valero and Chevron are among the top users of Venezuelan crude.Refiners are expected to present ideas for expanding domestic refining capacity – or addressing disincentives to operation – including potential changes in state and federal policy. The president has indicated that he knows of their concerns. At a January meeting with oil industry representatives, he asked Marathon Petroleum CEO Maryann Mannen whether “we need more refineries in our country”.The US refining fleet has contracted in recent years with fuel makers currently capable of processing some 18 million barrels of oil daily – down from a 2020 peak capacity of 19 million daily barrels. That means plants across the country, which collectively processed 17.4 million barrels of oil last week, are pushing their equipment to the limit in order to meet both domestic demand and exports for a tight global fuels market.Trump has already issued a presidential determination invoking the Defense Production Act and allowing the potential use of federal funds to support refining and other energy projects in the name of national security. He has also allowed foreign ships to transport oil and other commodities around the US, waiving longstanding Jones Act requirements for American-flagged, -owned and -operated vessels in a bid to ensure fuel supplies and lower costs amid the war. The president scaled back the reach of his Jones Act waiver in August; if asked about the issue, some refiners may stress that has limited the relief unnecessarily, people familiar with the matter said. While the session is set to be wide ranging, it is also expected to provide an opening for some refiners to raise their concerns with biofuel-blending quotas the administration has set under the US Renewable Fuel Standard. The Environmental Protection Agency said it would decide by the end of the month whether to exempt some small refineries from those annual quotas compelling the use of corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel. The scope of those exemptions – and the extent to which the EPA might reallocate waived biofuel quotas to other refineries – is a heated issue for key Trump constituencies, dividing oil companies and agricultural interests. The stakes of the debate have only intensified since the Trump administration set record-high biofuel-blending requirements earlier this year, raising costs for some refiners and making the exemptions much more lucrative. BLOOMBERG