Just the News reports President Trump plans to meet with oil company executives to determine how US refining capacity can be increased. This is good.
I have a radical idea to suggest. In the last five years California has lost 6 of its 16 refineries. Much of this due to state regulations and interference. Presumably at least some of these could be put back into operation at a reasonable cost. The program need not be limited to CA.
I suggest the president nationalize those still workable and then accept bids from existing oil firms to refit and run them for a percentage of the revenue. To finance their purchase, bonds backed by the resulting profit stream, could be issued.
Perhaps they could be designated as National Defense Reserve Capacity facilities and the current Hormuz situation as an "emergency." The Office of Petroleum Reserves, Dept. of Energy could oversee them.
Inevitably state governments - especially CA - would resist such actions. If owned by the federal government, RDRC facilities should be beyond state regulatory interference.
