Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Squeezed Refiners to Ease Pump Prices

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump pressed US oil refiners to boost domestic production of gasoline and diesel during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, as he contends with high prices and mounting cost-of-living concerns before November's midterm elections.

Trump made clear he wants lower gas prices at the pump for Americans and asked executives how to increase refining capacity, according to a White House official who provided details on condition of anonymity. The official said industry representatives were aligned with that goal and that the discussion touched on regulatory changes, faster permitting and additional investments.

The face-to-face pressure highlighted the political peril for a president who campaigned on reining in energy costs only to see them spiral amid the US war on Iran. US fuel prices are at the highest seasonal level ever with gasoline now fetching more than $4 a gallon and diesel nearly $6 a gallon on average nationwide, according to the American Automobile Association.

In return, Trump got an earful about federal biofuel-blending requirements, as some refining executives used the hour-long meeting to argue that quotas compelling them to mix alternative fuels into gasoline are raising pump prices, according to people familiar with the conversation who asked not to be named because it was private.

Roughly a dozen executives from fuel refining and distribution companies joined Trump in the White House Cabinet Room for the discussion, followed by a quick visit to the Oval Office, some of the people said. They reflected a who's who of industry, with leaders of smaller independent fuel makers such as Delek US Holdings Inc. alongside representatives from large refiners, including PBF Energy Inc., Marathon Petroleum Corp., and Valero Energy Corp.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who heads Trump's National Energy Dominance Council, were in the session alongside other officials.

The gathering was dominated by talk about the Renewable Fuel Standard, the federal law that compels refiners to blend corn-based ethanol, soy-based biodiesel and other alternative fuels into gasoline and diesel, people said. Industry representatives took aim at the administration's decision to set record-high biofuel-blending quotas, with some casting the targets as unattainable and describing them as driving up gasoline costs, some of the people said.