Kuwait is in talks with the Bush administration to build an oil refinery in the U.S., seeking to construct the nation's first new plant in three decades as gasoline and diesel prices surge to records.

Kuwaiti oil minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah said yesterday he made the offer this month and expects a reply in October. He's seeking a joint-venture partner in the project and White House assistance in gaining the necessary permits.

The Kuwaiti minister, in Vienna for a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, didn't say how much the refinery might cost or where it may be located. White House spokesman David Almacy couldn't immediately comment on the matter.

The last refinery built in the U.S. was Marathon Oil's Garyville, La., plant, which opened in 1976.