Trump puts pressure on squeezed US oil refiners to ease pump prices

Industry executives were also asked how the US can process more Venezuelan crude

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

Trump made clear he wanted lower 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 petrol now fetching more than US$4 a gallon and diesel nearly US$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 forcing them to mix alternative fuels into petrol are raising pump prices, according to people familiar with the conversation who asked not to be named because it was private.