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The Trump administration is working with potential investors to restart oil refineries as gas prices remain elevated due to the ongoing war with Iran.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: Oil refineries are critical for turning crude oil into anything you can actually use. Crude straight out of the ground is useless sludge. You cannot put it in your car. American refining capacity has been shrinking for a decade as old plants shut down over poor margins, environmental regulations, and accidents. That has left the US unable to process crude from certain countries like Venezuela, since heavy crude requires refineries specifically built to handle it.

What’s going on now: First reported by Politico, the White House has been talking with a long list of potential investors about restarting plants across the US. National Energy Dominance Council officials confirmed fielding investor inquiries and connecting them to agencies to work out what federal help might look like. Those conversations have gotten serious enough that NEDC officials went to the EPA to figure out what it would actually take, legally, to fire up a plant that has been sitting dead.

When asked about the reports, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, “Energy security is national security, and America’s refining capacity is essential to ensuring the United States has continuous access to secure, affordable, and reliable energy. The President’s National Energy Dominance Council will continue supporting the reopening of shuttered refineries and the construction of new ones to lower prices and strengthen our national security.”

This all comes as Trump touts a $300 billion deal with Reliance Industries, the Indian conglomerate run by Mukesh Ambani, for a new refinery in Brownsville, Texas, the first built in the country in roughly 50 years. The plant is meant to turn 1.2 billion barrels of American light shale oil into 50 billion gallons of refined product.