Startup hopes 4th time's a charm to build first big U.S. oil refinery in decades

HOUSTON — Element Fuels Holdings, a Dallas-area startup proposing to build the first all-new U.S. oil refinery in nearly 50 years, on Thursday said it was relaunching efforts to build a large plant in South Texas.

The Brownsville, Texas, project has been proposed by entrepreneur John Calce at least twice before by his ARX Energy, and JupiterMLP startups, with one leading to a bankruptcy filing. The project was originally owned by a holding company that also owned Centurion Terminals.

Element is looking to raise funds for the first phase, which will allow the refinery to process about 50,000 to 55,000 barrels per day of naphtha feedstock into gasoline. The company estimates the initial phase will cost about $1.2 billion, Calce said.

The company also said it was in talks with the U.S. Department of Energy for funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.