President Donald Trump has declared US oil production, refining and logistics essential to national defence. In a memo dated 22 October, he invoked Section 303 of the Defense Production Act. As a result, the government can buy, commit to buy or fund new capacity.
What the Defense Production Act memo covers
The determination covers exploration and production, gathering and transmission pipelines, storage and marine terminals. Without federal action, it says, industry cannot add enough capacity in time. It blames constrained financing, long lead times, permitting delays and supply chain limits.
Notably, the memo names no specific projects. Last week, however, Vice President JD Vance said the act would help expand a Delek US Holdings refinery in Texas, Reuters reports. In addition, legislation signed last year included $1bn of Defense Production Act funding for energy projects.
Why now
Crude and diesel prices have surged since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. Consequently, fuel costs are a risk for Republicans before the 3 November midterm elections. The US already pumped about 13.6 mmbbl/d of crude in 2025, more than any other country.
Meanwhile, Washington is also lending fuel from its reserves. Read our report on the US heating oil reserve.
For a deeper analysis, read: US Refining Capacity: What Trump’s Defense Production Act Order Can and Cannot Fix
