TRUMP TO LIFT BAN ON NEW LNG PROJECTS AND EXPAND OIL DRILLING IN THE US

Trump's team is preparing a series of measures to increase oil and gas production in the United States, and the new president is even ready to declare a state of emergency in the country's energy sector to implement these measures

The transition team of US President-elect Donald Trump is preparing a series of bills that will expand oil and gas production in the United States, sources tell Reuters.

The first point of this program is the lifting of the ban on issuing export licenses for new LNG projects. Biden introduced the ban in January to assess the economic and environmental aspects of new LNG projects. And Trump will rescind it on day one.

Currently, five major LNG projects in the United States are “frozen” for approval, including Venture Global’s CP2, Commonwealth LNG, and Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles LNG.

Second, Trump will reduce the approval time for drilling permits on US coastlines and federal lands. During his last presidential term, approval took an average of 172 days, under Biden it took 258 days; federal lands provide 25% of US oil production and 12% of gas production. Trump is likely to start offering more drilling sites on federal lands, but Reuters notes that more such permits have been issued under Biden than under Trump in his previous presidential term.

Third, Trump will seek to expand the oil purchasing budget for the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This year, by the way, there is no money in the budget to replenish the reserve. We will have to convince the US Congress to increase funding.

Fourth, “as a gesture of goodwill,” Trump will try to get approval for the Keystone pipeline expansion project, Keystone XL, which involves increasing oil exports from the tar sands of the Canadian province of Alberta to US ports and refineries on the coast. . Biden canceled this project on the first day of his presidential term, and here everything will be difficult: in particular, the lands provided by private owners have returned to them and the public easements on them have failed.

Fifth, Trump risks weakening climate demands: in particular, he is ready to cut incentives for the purchase of new electric cars, but to soften the rules for power plants on the transition from coal and gas to renewable energy sources. Recall that Trump had previously said that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Many of these measures will take time to pass through Congress or US regulatory agencies. To speed up the process, Trump is even ready to declare a state of emergency in the US energy sector, which, according to sources, will help push through a number of relevant bills.

In addition, Trump intends to pressure the International Energy Agency to address energy security issues and not with “green camouflage” – by lobbying for renewable energy sources and the energy transition in general. The instrument of pressure has already been expressed previously: states can reduce funding to the Agency.