The Trump administration is exploring ways to bring closed oil refineries back online as gasoline prices climb, a move tied in part to disruptions stemming from the ongoing conflict involving Iran. A White House official confirmed to The Hill on Thursday that the administration would like to see refineries across the country reopen, with particular attention to facilities like the Limetree Bay refinery in St. Croix, which has sat idle since environmental violations forced its closure in 2021.

The push comes as average retail gasoline prices in the United States have risen roughly 18 percent over the past three months, according to Energy Information Administration data. The administration has faced pressure from Republican lawmakers and fuel industry groups to take administrative action to increase domestic refining capacity, which they argue has not kept pace with post-pandemic demand recovery.

What the Left Is Saying

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said reopening shuttered refineries is a 'Band-Aid approach' that fails to address systemic vulnerabilities in U.S. energy infrastructure. 'Every time there's a geopolitical flashpoint, we see gas prices spike and working families pay the price,' Schumer wrote on social media Thursday. 'The answer isn't to prop up old, polluting facilities — it's to invest in clean energy that makes us energy independent.'

Progressive advocacy group Food & Water Watch called the potential revival of the St. Croix facility particularly troubling given its history. The refinery, operated briefly by Limetree Bay Ventures after a 2016 restart attempt, released toxic emissions in 2021 that sickened residents on the island of St. Croix and prompted emergency evacuations. 'This community already paid the price for this company's failures,' said senior attorney Tarah Heinzen. 'Reopening it would be putting oil industry profits ahead of public health.'

Environmental Defense Fund economist Lucas Ross argued that short-term supply-side fixes ignore market realities. 'Refining capacity isn't the bottleneck here — it's crude oil availability in a disrupted global market,' Ross wrote in an analysis. 'Expanding renewables and electric vehicle infrastructure reduces exposure to exactly this kind of geopolitical volatility.'

What the Right Is Saying

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) praised the administration's approach, saying on Fox News that reopening idled refineries represents 'low-hanging fruit' for bringing down pump prices. 'We have refining capacity sitting dormant while American drivers are getting squeezed at the gas station,' Johnson said Wednesday. 'This is about using existing infrastructure to provide relief without waiting years for new projects to come online.'

The American Petroleum Institute, the industry's largest trade group, echoed that sentiment in a statement attributed to president and CEO Mike Sommers. 'Domestic refining capacity has not kept pace with demand recovery since 2020,' Sommers said. 'Supporting the restart of legally compliant facilities is a common-sense step that can help stabilize markets without any cost to taxpayers.'

Conservative commentator and former Energy Department official David McIntosh argued the St. Croix facility's closure illustrated overreach by environmental regulators. 'The Biden-era EPA used enforcement discretion to kill capacity that's now desperately needed,' Mcintosh wrote in an National Review column. 'The Trump administration is right to explore every tool available, including emergency waivers, to get these facilities back operating.'

What the Numbers Show

According to Energy Information Administration data, total U.S. refinery operable capacity currently stands at approximately 17.9 million barrels per calendar day — down from 18.6 million barrels per day in January 2020, before pandemic-related shutdowns and permanent closures. The number of operating refineries has fallen from 135 to 128 over that period.

The Limetree Bay facility on St. Croix had a nameplate capacity of 210,000 barrels per day before its second closure. Its 2021 shutdown removed roughly 1.2 percent of total U.S. refining capacity from the market at a time when demand had nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Average retail gasoline prices stood at $3.47 per gallon nationally as of late July, according to AAA Motor Club data — up from $2.94 per gallon in April but below the $4.12 peak reached in June 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The current conflict involving Iran has disrupted shipping lanes and contributed to a 12 percent increase in global benchmark crude prices since mid-June.

The Bottom Line

The White House's interest in reviving closed refineries marks a notable shift toward supply-side energy policy, though any concrete action would require navigating environmental compliance requirements and potentially negotiating with facility owners. Industry analysts note that restarting a shuttered refinery typically takes 12 to 18 months even under optimal conditions, meaning any relief from increased domestic capacity would not arrive before mid-2027 at the earliest.

Congressional Democrats are expected to scrutinize any administrative efforts to fast-track refinery reopenings, particularly regarding environmental review requirements under the Clean Air Act. The outcome of ongoing negotiations over emergency energy measures could shape whether additional executive action follows. Watch for potential congressional hearings on domestic refining capacity in September when lawmakers return from summer recess.