Trump Urges Refiners to Emergency Meeting, Pressures Gasoline Price Cuts

White House Meeting with Refiners and Distributors Set for Next Month

U.S. Strives to Stabilize Prices with Venezuelan Oil

Experts Say “Impact Will Take Years”

U.S. President Donald Trump is calling together executives from the country's oil refining and fuel distribution industries to the White House in order to address soaring gasoline prices following the Iran war. With cost-of-living issues emerging as a key concern ahead of the November midterm elections, Trump is seen as taking direct action to stabilize gasoline prices.

U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House

According to CNBC, AFP, and other outlets on the 31st (local time), President Trump is scheduled to meet with executives from U.S. refining and distribution companies at the White House on September 1. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright will also be in attendance. The meeting is expected to include at least 10 companies, ranging from major firms such as Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and PBF Energy, to medium- and small-sized refiners and distributors.

The main topic of the meeting is gasoline prices. As of that day, the nationwide average price for regular gasoline in the United States stood at $4.08 per gallon, which is about 30% higher than the previous year. The price increase is attributed to Russia's attacks on Ukrainian refineries, as well as supply disruptions in the Middle East due to the Iran war.

This meeting takes place just over two months before the midterm elections. Rising fuel prices have led to an overall increase in the cost of living, adding to the political burden on the Trump administration and the Republican Party.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, predicted that gasoline prices this Labor Day are very likely to reach an all-time high. The previous record for Labor Day was $3.83 per gallon, set in 2012.

U.S. Pushes to Expand Supply with Venezuelan Oil... Short-Term Impact Limited

President Trump’s recent announcement of a major oil development deal with Venezuela is also part of his efforts to stabilize gasoline prices. On August 28, Trump announced that the United States had secured majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves. This is more than 20% of Venezuela’s total proven reserves, estimated at about 303 billion barrels.

President Trump claimed that this deal would “significantly lower” U.S. gasoline prices. The idea is to offset some of the global crude supply shortages caused by the Iran war by expanding U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude.

However, energy experts point out that Venezuelan oil is unlikely to reduce costs at U.S. gas stations in the near term. Venezuela’s current oil production stands at about 1.2 million barrels per day, only a third of its late-1990s peak of 3.5 million barrels per day. Years of underinvestment and aging infrastructure have severely damaged its production and export capabilities.

Rystad Energy has estimated that restoring Venezuela’s oil output to peak historical levels would require about $180 billion in investment by 2040. The Trump administration intends to attract around $100 billion in private investment through this new deal.

David Goldwyn, former Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the State Department under the Barack Obama administration, told CNBC, “This deal will have no impact on gasoline prices or Venezuelan oil production for years to come.”

Relaxing Renewable Fuel Regulations... Reducing Cost Burden for Small Refiners

The Trump administration is also moving forward with measures to reduce refinery costs directly. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a total of 1.76 billion Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) in exemptions for small refiners concerning the 2025 blending requirement for renewable fuels. This is nearly twice the originally expected amount of approximately 990 million RINs.

The renewable fuel blending requirement mandates that refiners either mix a certain amount of ethanol or biodiesel into gasoline and diesel or purchase equivalent credits. Increasing the scale of exemptions reduces the cost burden on refiners.

However, as support for refiners increases, it may spark backlash from farmers producing corn and soybeans, which are the main raw materials for biofuels, leading to potential political challenges.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.