Trump's Energy dominance aims to attract more global companies to the US
Executives said that the market upheaval caused by U.S. president Donald Trump's protectionist policies on trade has not dampened interest from foreign investors in the U.S. Energy Industry. They praised his promise to reduce regulations and support fossil energies. Trump made energy dominance the cornerstone of his administration. He declared a national emergency on his first official day in office, and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. He has encouraged energy companies to increase fossil fuel production, and promised lower prices for consumers.
Trump's energy stance has been widely welcomed by the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry, which had focused on returning capital back to shareholders, and had reined-in exploration and investment. Lower prices, however, are usually bad for company bottom lines. Foreign companies have not yet committed a dollar amount for new investment in the United States.
Early March, oil prices reached a record low. Investors worried about a possible trade war pushed Brent crude futures below $70 per barrel on Monday.
The vast resources of America and Trump's energy policies are attractive to foreign energy companies. They are interested in the U.S. market after years of lower spending by American companies as investors have pushed them to focus more on returns than explosive growth.
ADNOC, the United Arab Emirates' energy company, announced on Tuesday that it intends to make significant investment in the U.S. in the next few months through its fully owned international investment arm XRG. XRG has assets worth about $80 billion and is looking at options for an IPO.
Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of ADNOC, said that investing in the United States via XRG was not a prioritization; it is an absolute necessity.
He stated that these investments would include the supply chain of natural gas. The UAE is part of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Santos, an Australian oil and natural gas producer, also announced that it would increase its investments in the U.S. Citing the pro-energy policies of the Trump administration. This could include additional capital for its Pikka project in Alaska.
Woodside Energy, an Australian company, acquired the U.S. company Tellurian last year. The company plans to take a final decision this year on a LNG export project. Recently, the company acquired an ammonia factory in Beaumont Texas.
Santos attended a dinner on Sunday night with Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy secretary and executives of other major oil companies. Wright has promised to accelerate the permitting process and to support the oil and gas industry.
Some executives are concerned about the rapid changes in policy. While most of the industry applauds the efforts to roll back regulations and accelerate the development of oil projects, others have expressed concern.
Mike Wirth, CEO of Chevron, said at a conference on Monday that "swinging from extreme to extreme is not the best policy approach." Trump ended last month a license Chevron had been granted since 2022 for it to operate in Venezuela, and export oil.
SAVING STALLS
In recent years, the U.S. Oil and Gas industry's spending has decreased as producers adopt a strategy based on capital discipline and shareholder returns. This year, some major oil companies have announced plans to cut jobs and restructure, including SLB, Chevron and BP.
In a recent presentation of its earnings, oilfield producer SLB warned that customers are still cautious with their spending. Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said on Monday that the company does not expect its customers to increase spending this year. The majority of output gains are due to efficiency gains.
ConocoPhillips' CEO Ryan Lance said on Tuesday that he expected U.S. crude oil production to plateau before the end of the decade. Vicki Hollub is CEO of Occidental Petroleum Corp.
Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S., on Monday raised its forecast for 2025 domestic oil production from 13.61 million barrels to 13,61 million barrels a day. This is an increase of 200,000 barrels a day over last month's estimate. The EIA raised its forecast for 2026 by 300,000 barrels per day from an earlier outlook to 13.76million bpd.
The company also increased its forecasts for natural gas production in this year and the next.
Toby Rice said in an interview with EQT Corp on Monday that "America will have a tremendous opportunity to help bring energy to the world." (Reporting and writing by Georgina Mccartney in Houston, Liz Hampton and David Gregorio; editing by David Gregorio).
(source: Reuters)
