2026 AFPM Annual Meeting: Continuing as a global stabilizing force and shaping the narrative
Chet Thompson, President and CEO, AFPM
The 2026 American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) Annual Meeting has kicked off at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Louisiana (U.S.) and runs through March 17th.
The AFPM Annual Meeting is the world's premier refining meeting, assembling key executives, decision-makers and technical experts from refining businesses, technology providers, contracting and consulting firms, and equipment manufacturers around the world.
Chet Thompson, President and CEO, AFPM, opened the morning’s General Session by welcoming a capacity crowd of industry leaders to “one of the great American cities.”
Willis Sparks, Director of Global Macro, Eurasia Group, joined Jaime Zarraby, Senior Vice President, AFPM, for a Q&A discussion that centered on the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
The audience was especially excited to hear from FOX New Channel Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier, host of the #1 cable news program in the U.S. Baier’s Keynote Address provided a behind-the-scenes, nonpartisan analysis of the current administration, today’s political leaders and the major issues influencing policy.
“New Orleans is also closely tied to the energy and petrochemical industries,” Thompson stated. “Louisiana is home to 15 refineries, some of the biggest petrochemical facilities in the country, more than 50,000 miles of pipelines and some of the best energy storage hubs and ports in all the country.”
“Our industries put billions back into the Louisiana economy each year, providing resources for communities, schools, libraries, infrastructure, and supporting more than 200,000 good paying, family-supporting jobs.”
Thompson referred back to 2022, the last time the AFPM Annual Meeting was held in New Orleans. He spoke about how, once again, the refining and the petrochemical industries can be a global stabilizing force, delivering reliable, affordable energy that are essential to the U.S. and its allies.
“Today’s conflict in the Middle East underscores the importance of energy security and just how blessed we are in the United States, and in North America, to have it,” Thompson stated. “We have our natural resources, our world-class refining and petrochemical assets, our infrastructure, and, of course, our amazing workforce.”
Thompson provided the audience with some data to back his points. “Last year we produced more than 270 billion gallons of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products, and we supplied billions of gallons of refined products to more than 100 countries across the globe.”
Thompson heralded the present U.S. government for several achievements, including:
- Overriding California’s ban on new gas-powered cars and trucks, which has been an AFPM priority for the last several years.
- Enacting tax reforms designed to spur our industries and American energy investment forward.
- Issuing Executive Orders directing agencies to get back to their core remits and remove regulatory bottlenecks instead of creating new ones.
- Keeping North American energy tariff free.
- Unapologetically supporting the refining and petrochemicals industries during the United Nations plastic waste treaty negotiations, and recognizing that plastics and petrochemicals are essential to modern life.
“We had some major legal victories over the last year as well, including from the Supreme Court, which recognized the harm electric vehicle mandates—those pushed by California and the prior administration—would have on our industries,” Thompson said.
Thompson stressed that between now and the Midterms, AFPM will be urging the administration and Congress to:
- Finish unwinding the prior administration’s overreach, thereby creating an environment that allows manufacturers to thrive.
- Reform the Renewable Fuel Standard. The EPA’s current RFS proposal is estimated to cost consumers as much as $150 B. Just modest reforms could cut those costs in half, he said.
- Get permitting reform finished once and for all.
- Enact policies that promote and reward innovation.
- Renew the U.S, Mexico, Canada free trade agreement.
- Encourage fair and open global energy markets.
Those that have been around AFPM for a while know that it has made a big push over the last several years to better tell the industry’s story.
“By standing up for what we do, why we do it, explaining how our industries work, and demonstrating how integral we are to American progress, we are helping shape a more accurate narrative,” Thompson said.
“The products we make quietly enable progress every day, and the same ingenuity that powered the nation’s first 250 years is alive and well in the women and men of our industries. It will certainly carry us into our next chapter.”
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