Since President Joe Biden’s first day in office, the U.S. oil and gas industry has criticized his energy policy, saying it undermines America’s energy and national security through punitive and restrictive measures against fossil fuels.
Yet during President Biden’s term, U.S. oil and gas production has reached record levels. But this achievement came despite Biden’s policies, not because of them, the industry says.
For his part, presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump has pledged to return to the “drill, baby, drill” policy favoring increased release of U.S. oil and gas production.
The industry, which feels targeted by Biden’s climate laws and provisions, has criticized what it called “inept” energy policies and has often expressed frustration with the current administration and its many energy bills and proposals, including the least proposed. lease sales in history, a tax on methane emissions and a pause in LNG export project approvals.
“Until the next administration is decided, we are in a state of flux when it comes to making certain business decisions,” said an executive at a U.S. exploration and production company in comments to the latest Dallas Fed energy survey. Related: Saudi Aramco eyes stake in Chinese petrochemical company
Another comment read: “I can’t remember a more uncertain time with worrying global conflicts and the choice we must make in the US presidential election.”
The US oil and gas industry is supportive of Trump’s presidency. He gave $7.5 million to Donald Trump’s campaign, clearly favoring him over President Biden, who received just over $1 million from groups outside the energy sector, according to data collected by OpenSecrets.
However, two of Trump’s main campaign promises – scrapping the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and imposing tariffs, including 60% on Chinese goods – may not benefit the oil and gas industry.
The sector, although it has criticized the IRA for its emissions charges, is set to benefit from IRA funding to launch carbon capture and hydrogen projects.
Last year, one of the largest U.S. oil producers, Occidental, won one of two grants from the Biden administration to build the world’s first direct air capture plant in Texas, capable of extract carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.
The US administration also decided to support hydrogen poles with $7 billion in funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Act. This has caused much controversy due to the selection of sites planned to produce hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Trump has pledged to gut the IRA. However, this would first require a Republican-controlled Congress, including both the House and Senate. Even then, it could be difficult to reduce or eliminate these incentives because they mainly benefit projects and jobs in Republican states, analysts say.
The executives of the American oil majors expressed their support for the IRA. One of them is none other than Darren Woods, the CEO of ExxonMobil.
“I was very supportive of the IRA – I’m very supportive of the IRA – because, as the law says, the IRA focuses on carbon intensity and is theoretically technology agnostic,” he said. Woods said at CERAWeek in Houston last month, as reported by the Washington Post. Job.
“They’re not trying to choose a particular technology.”
The American Petroleum Institute (API), for all its criticism of many of Biden’s energy policies, also supports the IRA’s incentives for green technologies that benefit the industry.
“I suspect that when there is an attempt to repeal the IRA – and there will be – it will end up looking more like a scalpel-like approach rather than a butcher’s knife,” said the API President and CEO Mike Sommers at the Houston conference. reports the Washington Post.
“And we will defend the provisions that we support.”
The US oil and gas industry also fears an escalation in the trade war with China, with Trump considering imposing tariffs of 60% or more on imports of Chinese goods. If Trump is not dissuaded from the idea, the cost of energy projects is expected to rise due to expected increases in steel and aluminum pipes and inflationary pressure from disrupted trade routes.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More important reading on Oilprice.com:
Since President Joe Biden’s first day in office, the U.S. oil and gas industry has criticized his energy policy, saying it undermines America’s energy and national security through punitive and restrictive measures against fossil fuels.
Yet during President Biden’s term, U.S. oil and gas production has reached record levels. But this achievement came despite Biden’s policies, not because of them, the industry says.
For his part, presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump has pledged to return to the “drill, baby, drill” policy favoring increased release of U.S. oil and gas production.
The industry, which feels targeted by Biden’s climate laws and provisions, has criticized what it called “inept” energy policies and has often expressed frustration with the current administration and its many energy bills and proposals, including the least proposed. lease sales in history, a tax on methane emissions and a pause in LNG export project approvals.
“Until the next administration is decided, we are in a state of flux when it comes to making certain business decisions,” said an executive at a U.S. exploration and production company in comments to the latest Dallas Fed energy survey. Related: Saudi Aramco eyes stake in Chinese petrochemical company
Another comment read: “I can’t remember a more uncertain time with worrying global conflicts and the choice we must make in the US presidential election.”
The US oil and gas industry is supportive of Trump’s presidency. He gave $7.5 million to Donald Trump’s campaign, clearly favoring him over President Biden, who received just over $1 million from groups outside the energy sector, according to data collected by OpenSecrets.
However, two of Trump’s main campaign promises – scrapping the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and imposing tariffs, including 60% on Chinese goods – may not benefit the oil and gas industry.
The sector, although it has criticized the IRA for its emissions charges, is set to benefit from IRA funding to launch carbon capture and hydrogen projects.
Last year, one of the largest U.S. oil producers, Occidental, won one of two grants from the Biden administration to build the world’s first direct air capture plant in Texas, capable of extract carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.
The US administration also decided to support hydrogen poles with $7 billion in funding from the bipartisan Infrastructure Act. This has caused much controversy due to the selection of sites planned to produce hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Trump has pledged to gut the IRA. However, this would first require a Republican-controlled Congress, including both the House and Senate. Even then, it could be difficult to reduce or eliminate these incentives because they mainly benefit projects and jobs in Republican states, analysts say.
The executives of the American oil majors expressed their support for the IRA. One of them is none other than Darren Woods, the CEO of ExxonMobil.
“I was very supportive of the IRA – I’m very supportive of the IRA – because, as the law says, the IRA focuses on carbon intensity and is theoretically technology agnostic,” he said. Woods said at CERAWeek in Houston last month, as reported by the Washington Post. Job.
“They’re not trying to choose a particular technology.”
The American Petroleum Institute (API), for all its criticism of many of Biden’s energy policies, also supports the IRA’s incentives for green technologies that benefit the industry.
“I suspect that when there is an attempt to repeal the IRA – and there will be – it will end up looking more like a scalpel-like approach rather than a butcher’s knife,” said the API President and CEO Mike Sommers at the Houston conference. reports the Washington Post.
“And we will defend the provisions that we support.”
The US oil and gas industry also fears an escalation in the trade war with China, with Trump considering imposing tariffs of 60% or more on imports of Chinese goods. If Trump is not dissuaded from the idea, the cost of energy projects is expected to rise due to expected increases in steel and aluminum pipes and inflationary pressure from disrupted trade routes.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
More important reading on Oilprice.com: