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President-elect Trump has tapped two energy czars to oversee the expansion of American energy in his second term, and the industry has already handed the incoming administration and Congress a wish list of what they would like to see as the top priorities of leadership’s agenda.
On Friday, the incoming commander-in-chief announced in a press release that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will not only be his nominee for Secretary of the Department of Interior, but will head up a new National Energy Council, which “which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation, of ALL forms of American Energy.”
Then-candidate former President Donald Trump talks to North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Then on Saturday, Trump named Liberty Energy founder and CEO Chris Wright as his pick to lead the Department of Energy, noting that Wright will also serve on the National Energy Council.
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“He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas,” Trump’s statement said. “Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics.”
Liberty Oilfield Services CEO Chris Wright at Liberty January 17, 2018. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In reaction to the selections, American Conservation Coalition (ACC) President Christopher Barnard said the combination of Burgum and Wright “is literally the dream team.”
Trump made energy independence and bolstering oil and gas production a cornerstone of his campaign. While on the campaign trail, he pledged to expand fracking and lift a pause on liquefied natural gas exports, a sharp contrast from the Biden administration.
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The president-elect has also vowed to use his second White House term to exit the Paris climate accord again, undo strict emissions standards for vehicles and power plants and bolster production of U.S. oil and gas, including through fracking.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Those planks on his energy platform appear to align well with the priorities of the American Petroleum Institute, which released a policy roadmap in an open letter to the incoming president and Congress last week, listing top priorities to address in 2025 and beyond aimed at securing American energy leadership.
While Trump’s freshly-minted energy nominees have not yet released their to-do lists, API President & CEO Mike Sommers told FOX Business there are specific actions the administration can take to right the ship in Trump’s second term.
“As Governor of a top production state, Doug Burgum has demonstrated a keen understanding of the importance of harnessing America’s energy advantage,” Sommers said. “We look forward to working with him once confirmed to implement a pro-American approach to federal energy leasing, starting with developing a new five-year offshore leasing program and removing barriers to onshore leasing to fully leverage our nation’s natural resources.”
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Sommers said API also looks forward to working with Wright, once he is confirmed, “to bolster American geopolitical strength by lifting DOE’s pause on LNG export permits and ensuring the open access of American energy for our allies around the world.”
API’s 5-point policy plan outlines the industry’s priorities for the administration and Republican-controlled House and Senate, including:
Protecting consumer choice
- Repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) tailpipe rules
- Repeal the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards
- Deny/Rescind EPA’s Waiver for California’s Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule
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Bolstering America’s geopolitical strength
- Lift the Department of Energy’s (DOE) LNG permitting pause
- Swiftly process all pending export applications now languishing at DOE
- Ensure the open access of American energy to global markets
Leveraging our natural resources
- Issue a new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) five-year offshore leasing program
- Repeal restrictive onshore leasing rules, starting with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Conservation and Landscape Health Rule
- End EPA’s methane fee that misinterprets Congressional intent and does little beyond increasing the cost of production for American oil and natural gas
Reforming our permitting system
- Reform the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA)
- Reform the Clean Water Act
- Advance judicial reform
- Repeal the Biden-era NEPA rules
Advancing sensible tax policy
- Retain the 21% corporate tax rate to ensure global competitiveness
- Maintain and extend tax provisions for domestic infrastructure investment
- Preserve crucial international tax provisions
Phil Flynn, an energy market analyst and FOX Business contributor, says the most important thing is that the Trump administration “bring back sanity” to U.S. energy policy that was, in his view, lacking under the Bidena administration, saying that clarity and vision is what the U.S. oil and gas industry crave.
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He agrees with several points of API’s propriety list, and added, “We need to send a message that the Trump administration will not favor one energy source over another, but encourage all forms of energy produced in a clean and efficient way.”
FOX News’ Emma Colton and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
