Trump urged the construction of more refineries, but the willingness of oil companies to invest is limited

On 2 September, according to the Wall Street Journal, Trump urged industry to build more fuel-producing refineries at a White House executive meeting on Tuesday, but it was not easy to convince businesses to do so. New refineries are not economical, require billions of dollars and take three to five years to build. The oil industry expects that the energy market will have recovered well before a new refinery is established. Energy Aspects analyst Robert Campbell stated: “No one would venture into a massive investment of billions of dollars because of a three-month record profit margin.” New refineries face enormous obstacles, starting with the various licences required by federal, state and local governments. At the same time, the demand for gasoline is expected to decline in the long term as more electric cars are purchased by consumers and engine efficiency increases. Kim Xian