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HOUSTON — Leaders of President Donald Trump’s energy initiative conveyed to a gathering of oil, gas, and mining executives that they have a supportive ally in Washington, committed to facilitating drilling operations on federal lands and waters.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum expressed to attendees at CERAWeek, the world’s largest energy conference, that the Trump administration does not regard climate change as a significant threat. Energy Secretary Chris Wright characterized rising global temperatures as an inevitable result of harnessing the nation’s resources to bolster economic growth and enhance national security.
Burgum, who heads the newly formed National Energy Dominance Council, highlighted his appreciation for the oil and gas sectors, stating, “I’m going to share two words that I do not think that you have heard from a federal official in the Biden administration during the last four years. And those two words are thank you.” Burgum, a former North Dakota governor, referenced the state’s considerable oil output of 1.2 million barrels per day.
Drawing from his background as a software executive, Burgum articulated a customer-centric approach to resource management at the Interior Department. He described energy companies as contributors to the nation’s fiscal stability, claiming, “If someone was sending me revenue, they weren’t the enemy. They were the customer.” He expressed the administration’s enthusiasm for anyone engaged in timber harvesting, mineral extraction, cattle grazing, or oil and gas production on federal lands.
According to Burgum, royalties from federal land leases can help reduce the national debt and contribute to a balanced budget. “You’re the customer,” he reiterated to the executives.
He emphasized the immense value of the nation’s natural resources, asserting that it significantly outweighs the existing $36 trillion national debt. If financial markets fully recognized this value, Burgum theorized, long-term interest rates would decline.
“The interest rates right now are one of the biggest expenses we have as a country,” he noted. “So one of the things that we have to do is unleash America’s balance sheet, and President Trump is helping us do that,” he added.
Burgum criticized the Biden administration’s focus on climate change as an “ideology,” asserting that the Trump administration views threats like Iran’s nuclear ambitions and China’s lead in artificial intelligence as more pressing challenges than global warming. Wright echoed this sentiment, describing the current administration’s dedication to reducing emissions as “myopic” and “quasi-religious,” which he argued harms consumers.
The administration’s representatives dismissed transitions away from fossil fuels to renewables, contending that wind and solar technologies cannot meet the anticipated energy demands driven by advancements in artificial intelligence and manufacturing resurgence. “There is simply no physical way that wind, solar, and batteries could replace the myriad uses of natural gas. I haven’t even mentioned oil or coal yet,” Wright stated during the conference. Wright previously held the position of CEO at oilfield services firm Liberty Energy and served on the board of nuclear technology startup Oklo.
Oil Executives Find Support in Washington
Oil industry executives are expressing optimism about the shift in administration, reciprocating the admiration conveyed by Trump’s energy team during the event.
“For years, my message has been that we need a balanced conversation about affordability, reliability, and the environment, and focusing solely on climate leads us to ignore the first two,” Wright articulated.
All the executives referenced the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a nod to Trump’s executive order to rename the waterway. The president’s first executive action included reversing Biden’s restrictions on offshore drilling across 625 million acres of U.S. coastal waters.
In a slip of the tongue that he quickly corrected, BP CEO Murray Auchincloss remarked on how generative AI enhances exploration, noting, “We started doing this in the Gulf of Mexico, uh America, and we spread that to other nations as well.”
However, Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” mantra faces challenges from market realities. Both Chevron and ConocoPhillips executives indicated that U.S. oil production is expected to stabilize in the coming years after achieving record levels during the Biden administration.
“Chasing growth for growth’s sake has not proven to be particularly successful for our industry,” Wirth commented. “At some point, you’ve grown enough that you should start to move towards a plateau, and you should generate more free cash flow rather than just more barrels.”
Lance anticipates that U.S. oil production will reach its peak by the later part of this decade, followed by a gradual decline.
“Maybe it’s time to go back to exploring the Gulf of America,” Pouyanné suggested. “The new administration is opening the Gulf. It has been slowed down after the Macondo drama,” referring to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which remains the worst marine drilling disaster to date.
The American Petroleum Institute announced that U.S. oil producers are scheduled to meet with Trump next week, highlighting the ongoing close relationship between the industry and the administration.
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