Sunday, October 16, 2022

Fact Check: Did Trump Admin Sell Largest U.S. Oil Refinery to Saudi Arabia?
NEWSWEEK
ON 10/13/22 

The U.S.' troubled and complex history with the Saudi government has continued to cause anguish for the Biden Administration, particularly in light of energy shortages and the conflict in Ukraine.

President Joe Biden has recently warned of "consequences" for Riyadh after Saudi Aramco's decision to cut oil production as part of an OPEC+ agreement with Russia.

With America's energy independence on the line, some now claim that former president Donald Trump traded one of the country's largest energy assets to a nation facing accusations of cozying up to Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Claims on Twitter suggest that Donald Trump and Texas governor Greg Abbott were involved in the sale of the U.S. largest oil refinery to a Saudi state-owned firm. Pictured here, Trump shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, D.C.MANDEL NGAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/GETTY


The Claim


A tweet posted on October 10, 2022, questioned why Saudi Arabia "bought 100% of Port Arthur in Texas...America's largest oil refinery...completed in 2017 (during Trump's Administration)."

Another tweet, posted on October 8, 2022, asked more bluntly: "Why did the Trump admin and Texas Gov Abbott sell the largest US oil refinery to Saudi Arabia in 2020...?"

The Facts


While there are connections linking Trump, Greg Abbott, and Saudi oil, the buyout of the Port Arthur oil refinery does not appear to have had significant oversight from either the former president or the Texas governor.

It's true that Trump met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman during his presidency, a move which arguably signaled that the U.S. was ready to develop political and financial ties with the Middle Eastern energy powerhouse.

This became more problematic after the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. More recent revelations about Trump's possession of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago led many to recall how the former president approved the transfer of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia as well, though the link is tenuous and speculative.

In 2018, Abbot was expected to meet with Salman, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, and Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser to discuss the potential expansion into shale field refinery.

However, the Port Arthur deal was part of an agreement that precedes the Trump administration, going back to the time when state-owned Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell split assets of a joint U.S. business venture that included the Texas oil refinery.

In 2016, the two firms said they planned to divide the assets of Motiva Enterprises, a U.S. venture formed in 1998, which included the Port Arthur refinery.

Known as the Motiva Refinery, it is the largest oil refinery in North America.

In the split, Saudi Aramco took full ownership of Port Arthur, Texas, while Shell took ownership of refineries in Norco and Convent, Louisiana.

This asset division was completed a few months into the start of the Trump Administration.

Then in 2019, Saudi Aramco bought out Shell's 50 percent share of the oil refinery for $631 million.

While it took place during Trump and Abbott's time in their respective offices, it's not clear what either of their administrations would have had to do with this handover.

The Trump Administration did intervene in the import and distribution of oil in the U.S. elsewhere, when it imposed sanctions on Venezuelan firm PDVSA in 2019. It expanded these sanctions in 2021 to others who had later helped PDVSA sell crude oil to Asia.

In a case that arguably has some parallels with Port Arthur, the U.S. Treasury under Trump blocked Venezuela's creditors from seizing the U.S.-based Citgo refinery to collect on PDVSA, the state oil company, debt.

However, this policy was largely an effort to punish the government of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. did not recognize as the country's legitimate leader at the time.

"The United States is holding accountable those responsible for Venezuela's tragic decline, and will continue to use the full suite of its diplomatic and economic tools to support Interim President Juan Guaidó, the National Assembly, and the Venezuelan people's efforts to restore their democracy," said then Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin in January 2019.

So, while there is scope for government intervention in the export, import, and distribution of oil in the U.S., there is no obligation for state or federal government to block the sale or involve itself in the break-up of assets among two companies that hereto shared stakes in a private business venture.


In any case, though the administration's growing ties with the Kingdom (given the influence that Riyadh wields in OPEC+ policy) may in retrospect provide cause for concern, there simply isn't sufficient evidence to show that the Trump Administration or Greg Abbott had any executive or final oversight on the sale of Port Arthur to Saudi Aramco.

Newsweek has contacted Trump, Saudi Aramco, Shell, and Abbott for comment.

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