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Wright Delivers Remarks in Houston on Refinery Reopenings and Data Center Growth, Oct. 20, 2026

October 20, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:07:04

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What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright delivered remarks in Houston, Texas — which he called the energy capital of the world — in the Department of Energy’s upload of the October 20, 2026 appearance. Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, praising the visit the next day, said Wright highlighted the economic opportunities of responsible data center expansion, the importance of investing in energy infrastructure, and the Department of Energy’s $50 million investment in Texas grid resilience.

At the Houston event, Wright also said the administration is talking with the owners of every refinery that closed in the past decade about reopening, according to Reuters reporting of the remarks. “We are talking about reopening every refinery we can,” Wright said, adding that the goal is to find the most practical one to get back up and running, while cautioning that not all of the talks would succeed, as Reuters reported.

Why it matters

The Houston remarks tie Wright’s two running themes together: new load — data centers above all — must be met by strengthening the energy system that already exists, and the refining fleet that shrank over the past decade is, in the administration’s account, part of the capacity to be recovered rather than written off.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: the refinery-reopening dialogues as stated by Secretary Wright on October 20, 2026 — talks with the owners of every refinery closed in the past decade, with no reopening yet announced. Flagged for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Delivers Remarks in Houston, Texas” (official upload, embedded above); Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian statement, October 22, 2026; Reuters reporting of the Houston remarks via the Daily Caller News Foundation, October 21, 2026.