USA · 01 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Trump Meets Marathon Petroleum, Valero, Chevron, PBF, Delek U.S. Holdings to Cut Gas Prices
Diesel average hits record $5.85 a gallon nationwide due to Iran conflict disrupting fuel flow. Labor Day gasoline average reaches $4.14 per gallon, a holiday record.
Whether refinery expansion and policy changes will quickly lower prices.
7 of 12 outlets skipped it: AAA national gasoline average is around $4.08+.
Al Jazeera was read line by line by the Watchdog: 4.1. See the score →
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“Building or substantially expanding a refinery can take years and cost billions of dollars.”Read the original ↗
KRIS 6 News Corpus Christi
“Even if they do announce any increase in capacity, it would take likely months, if not years”Read the original ↗
Both warn the pump relief will be slow, shaping expectations for Trump’s near-term push.
White House pressures refiners
President Trump is expected to meet with major U.S. refiners as his administration seeks “concrete, near-term steps” to lower gasoline prices, with the national average for regular gasoline standing at about $4.08 a gallon, according to AAA.
“The White House is seeking “concrete, near-term steps””
The White House has accused refiners of benefiting from unusually strong profits while drivers pay more than $4 a gallon, and it says U.S. refineries are operating at nearly full capacity, limiting how quickly pressure can produce relief at the pump.
Trump is increasing pressure on U.S. oil refiners to produce more fuel, and the meeting is expected to include executives from companies including Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, Chevron, PBF Energy, and Delek U.S. Holdings.
The administration is also urging refiners to use some of their recent earnings to increase production and reduce prices, while the central challenge for Trump is that refineries are already operating close to practical limits.
In a separate development, ABC News said fuel prices hit a record Labor Day weekend average of $4.14 per gallon, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC’s “This Week,” “Yes, they’re higher today, but we’re doing everything we can to push them down.”
Iran conflict tightens supply
Renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran has lifted crude oil prices, sending gasoline prices higher again after weeks of steady declines, with average pump prices rising 6 cents this week to $3.88 a gallon on Friday, AAA data showed.
Energy market strategy director Alex Hodes of StoneX said, “Gasoline prices have rallied alongside the massive move higher in crude oil after several tankers in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked,” linking the pump move to attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
The same report said global oil futures benchmark Brent was on track for a weekly gain of roughly 5.5% after attacks on several tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, followed by tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran.
ABC News tied the Labor Day record to the Iran war and refinery issues, saying crude oil traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz has plunged and Iran has refused to reopen the waterway.
ABC also quoted Tom Seng, a professor of energy finance at Texas Christian University, saying, “Everything points to the Iran War and the Strait of Hormuz,” as U.S. refineries work at 98% capacity.
Cost burden and political stakes
Al Jazeera reported that U.S. consumers paid an additional $100bn for petrol and diesel in the six months since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, and it said the added cost works out to roughly $763 per household based on an estimated 131 million households nationwide.
“US consumers have paid an additional $100bn for petrol and diesel”
The same Al Jazeera article said Trump dismissed concerns about rising fuel prices in an interview with Reuters news agency, saying, “If they rise, they rise.”
It also reported that petrol accounts for the larger share of the cost, with the price of petrol climbing 39 percent from about $2.98 to $4.15 a gallon, while diesel rose more than 60 percent from $3.67 to $5.90 per gallon.
In parallel, the White House meeting to expand refining capacity is framed as a response to cost-of-living pressure ahead of November midterm elections, with the meeting described as a way to translate energy dominance into “the most cost savings possible at the pump for consumers,” according to White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers.
The stakes extend to households and food prices, because Al Jazeera said oil and gas touch nearly every stage of the food chain and that added costs are passed on to consumers as higher prices, while it also warned that rising oil prices could translate into food shortages in lower-income countries.