NorthAmOil: US oil and gas industry welcomes Trump, with some caveats

The US oil and gas industry has generally welcomed the election of the pro-fossil fuel Donald Trump. But there are differences of opinion, and some analysts doubt Trump can immediately do everything he promises.

Trump, an isolationist and mercantilist Republican, is expected to take the US out of the Paris Agreement again, which he did in his first presidency in 2017, only to have current president Joe Biden reverse his act.

The agreement is an international treaty on climate change.

Trump has said he will gut Biden’s signature climate legislation 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), calling it a green new scam. Among other things, the IRA has generous tax credits for carbon capture and storage, and manufacturing of hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel, which much of the oil industry is keen to advance.

The new president has also said on the campaign trail that he will impose tariffs on all foreign imports, with higher ones on imports from China. It is unclear if his advisors would agree, and tariffs on Canadian imports might be counterproductive.  

Trump has as well promised to grow oil production, which is currently at a record high, in part by easing environmental regulation. But his “drill baby drill” mantra may be contrary to oil producers’ focus on efficiency and shareholder returns.

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