BROWNSVILLE, Texas — U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that visa issues should not impede the proposed America First Refining project at the Port of Brownsville, which involves an investor and prospective customer based in India.
Wright toured the port and met with business leaders involved in large industrial investments. He described Brownsville as a community willing to build major projects in the United States, pointing to energy, aerospace and export development.
The refinery developer plans a 164,300-barrel-per-day facility on more than 240 acres at the port. Project materials say the plant would process light shale oil from the Permian Basin and produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products.
The proposal also envisions a 650-mile crude-oil pipeline from West Texas. State records show the project holds major air permits, although the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality extended the deadline to begin construction to Oct. 19, 2027.
President Donald Trump has identified Reliance Industries, an India-based multinational, as a partner or customer in the project. America First Refining and Reliance have not publicly confirmed all terms of the reported 20-year arrangement.
Port and city officials have promoted the refinery as a potential source of thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions. The project remains subject to financing, construction and other development milestones.
