US on brink of becoming net exporter of energy: Trump
‘Coal mining rises by 19% in the first five months of 2017’
WASHINGTON: With US exports of oil and natural gas surging, President Donald Trump said the US is on the brink of becoming a net exporter of oil, gas and other resources.
Trump is highlighting what he calls “energy dominance” as the White House hosts a series of events focused on jobs and boosting US global influence. The selfproclaimed “energy week” follows similar policy-themed weeks on infrastructure and jobs.
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Monday the Trump administration is confident officials can “pave the path toward US energy dominance” by exporting oil, gas and coal to markets around the world, and promoting nuclear energy and even renewables such as wind and solar power.
“For years, Washington stood in the way of our energy dominance. That changes now,” Perry told reporters at the White House. “We are now looking to help, not hinder, energy producers and job creators.”
The focus on energy began at a meeting between Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with US natural gas exports part of the discussion. Trump is expected to talk energy Wednesday with governors and tribal leaders, and he will deliver a speech on Thursday at the Energy Department.
Trump has long used the word “dominance” to describe his approach to energy, and Perry and other administration officials have begun echoing the phrase as shorthand for policies that “unleash” unfettered energy production on US land and waters. Similarly, during his administration Obama spoke about an “all of the above” energy policy intended to reassure skeptics that he supported a wide range of US energy production.
Trump signed an executive order in April to expand oil drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, reversing restrictions imposed by Obama. Trump has also pushed to revive US coal production after years of decline. Coal mining rose by 19 percent in the first five months of the year as the price of natural gas edged up, according to the Energy Department data.
US oil and gas production have boomed in recent years, primarily because of improved drilling techniques such as fracking that have opened up production in areas previously out of reach of drillers.
A report released in January by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said the country is on track to become a net energy exporter by 2026.