Trump Creates Council on Energy Dominance

Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Claiming domestic crude oil production would've been 2 million barrels per day higher under his watch, U.S. President Donald Trump has created a special council to ensure energy dominance.

Leaning again on executive orders, the Trump administration on Friday created the National Energy Dominance Council. Chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota, the council was set up to advise the president on how to improve permitting and other regulations.

"It will also consult with various public and private sector stakeholders to expand energy production and address cost barriers," the executive order read.

The United States is already the world leader in oil and gas production. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the Energy Department, expects total U.S. crude oil production to average 13.6 million barrels per day (BBL/d) this year, a 3% increase over last year should the forecast prove accurate. Output is expected to increase by another 1% next year to reach 13.7 million BBL/d.

Trump's executive order claimed that production would've been 2 million BBL/d higher during the four-year period ending in 2024 if he were president rather than Joe Biden. Biden's energy agenda was decidedly green, though production held steady at around 13 million BBL/d during his tenure in office.

Crude oil production averaged 9 million BBL/d in 2017, Trump's first year in office.

Natural gas production followed similar trends. It's expected to average 114.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) this year and reach 118 Bcf/d by 2025. Production averaged 94.7 Bcf/d during Biden's first year in office, up from 73.8 Bcf/d during Trump's first year as president in 2017.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) said in its fourth-quarter report that production was up 48,000 BBL/d relative to 2023 levels, primarily due to higher output from the Permian Basin and the Gulf of Mexico. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Spring, Texas) reported its own production was up as well, though that was during Biden's tenure.

Many companies, meanwhile, are taking a hit on revenue streams because of lower market prices. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas), for example, reported total earnings of $2.3 billion, representing a 20% decline from the same period in 2023. Full-year earnings of $9.2 billion marked a 16% decline from 2023 levels. Companies are also returning more money to shareholders rather than build up their capital streams for new programs.

While energy policy can be either accommodative or burdensome, some production trends depend on the market. Higher prices incentivize the energy sector to do more, but that would eventually reverse as supplies outpace demand.

And while many in the energy sector would cheer deregulation, industry groups had fretted over Trump's trade policies.

"Energy markets are highly integrated, and free and fair trade across our borders is critical for delivering affordable, reliable energy to U.S. consumers," the American Petroleum Institute said in response to the proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

Many U.S. refineries are tailored to process not the light, sweet crude oil found in shale, but heavier grades such as the Maya oil from Mexico and Cold Lake from Canada.

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