Report: Trump prepares wide-ranging energy plan to boost gas exports, oil drilling
By Bruce Beaubouef, Managing Editor
US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is putting together a wide-ranging energy package to roll out within days of his taking office that would approve export permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and increase drilling off the US coast and on federal lands, according to a recent Reuters report.
The energy checklist largely reflects promises Trump’s promises on the campaign trail to boost domestic oil and gas production, but it also includes plans to repeal some of his Democratic predecessor’s key climate legislation and regulations. According to the report, this includes tax credits for electric vehicles and new clean power plant standards that aim to phase out coal and natural gas-fired power generation.
An early priority would be lifting President Joe Biden’s pause on new export permits for LNG and moving swiftly to approve pending permits, the report said. Trump would also look to expedite drilling permits on federal lands and quickly reopen five-year drilling plans off the US coast to include more lease sales.
The president-elect is expected to expedite pending permits, hold sales more frequently, and offer land that is more likely to deliver oil, the report said. Drilling activity on federal lands and waters accounts for about a quarter of US oil production and 12% of gas output.
“The American people can bank on President Trump using his executive power on day one to deliver on the promises he made to them on the campaign trail,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s transition spokesperson.
Many of the elements in the plan would require time to move through Congress or the nation’s regulatory system. Trump has promised to declare an energy emergency on his first day in office that could test whether he can bypass those barriers to impose some changes on an accelerated schedule.
Trump would also call on Congress to provide new funding so he can replenish the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established as an emergency crude oil supply and which was depleted under Biden to help manage price spikes caused by the Ukraine crisis and high inflation during the pandemic. Replenishing the reserve would also help boost short-term oil demand and encourage US production.
Trump is also expected to put pressure on the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based energy watchdog that advises industrialized countries on energy policy. Republicans have criticized the IEA’s focus in recent years on policies to reduce emissions. Trump’s advisors have urged him to withhold funding unless the IEA takes a more pro-oil position. These advisors argue that the IEA has moved away from its original core mission of energy security, towards combatting climate change.
Trump also reportedly plans to end the Biden pause on LNG export plants. Earlier this year, Biden had put a freeze on new LNG export permits to study the environmental impacts of these facilities. Without the export permits, developers cannot go ahead with multi-year construction plans for new LNG projects.
The United States is the world's top producer of natural gas, and became the No. 1 exporter of LNG in 2023 as Europe looked to America to wean itself off Russia's vast energy supplies following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden administration promised to release the environmental study before Trump assumes the White House on Jan. 20, but it would have no influence on the incoming administration, according to the Reuters report.
There are five US LNG export projects that have been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but are still awaiting permit approvals at the Department of Energy, federal records show. Biden’s pause also halted necessary environmental reviews, portions of which may still be needed for the five pending DOE permits to withstand legal scrutiny.
In a symbolic gesture, Trump would also seek to approve the Keystone Pipeline, an issue that was an environmental flashpoint and which was halted after Biden canceled a key permit on his first day in office. But any company looking to build the multibillion-dollar effort to carry Canadian crude oil to the US would need to start from scratch because things like easements have been returned to landowners.
National Energy Council
To further these goals, Trump has said that he will create a National Energy Council that would help promote American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost US oil and gas drilling and move away from President Biden’s focus on climate change.
The energy council — to be led by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department — will be key in Trump’s pledge to “drill, drill, drill” and sell more oil and other energy sources to allies in Europe and around the globe.
The new council will be granted sweeping authority over federal agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, with a mandate to cut bureaucratic red tape, enhance private sector investments and focus on innovation instead of “totally unnecessary regulation,” Trump said.
Trump has played down risks from climate change and pledged to rescind unspent money in the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s landmark climate and health care bill. He also said he will stop offshore wind development when he returns to the White House in January.
But, analysts have observed that in his Nov. 15 announcement of the energy council, Trump said that he will “expand all forms of energy production to grow our economy and create good-paying jobs.”
