Energy Renaissance: Trump Prepares Wide-Ranging Plan To Refill SPR, Boost Oil Drilling And LNG Exports

Having made it clear that US energy is a core spoke of Trump’s economic revitalization strategy, the president-elect’s transition team is putting together a wide-ranging energy package to roll out within days of his taking office that would approve export permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, increase oil drilling off the U.S. coast and on federal lands, and accelerating the replenishing of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve largely drained by Biden who did everything in his power to prevent oil prices from rising.

As reported by Reuters, the energy checklist largely reflects promises Trump made on the campaign trail, but the plan to roll out the list as early as day one ensures that oil and gas production will rank alongside immigration as a pillar of Trump’s early agenda.

Trump also plans to repeal some of Biden’s key climate legislation and regulations, such as tax credits for electric vehicles and new clean power plant standards that aim to phase out coal and natural gas, Reuters reported.

An early priority would be lifting Biden’s election-year pause on new export permits for LNG and moving swiftly to approve pending permits. Trump would also look to expedite drilling permits on federal lands and quickly reopen five-year drilling plans off the U.S. coast to include more lease sales.

Trump would also call on Congress to provide new funding so he can replenish the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve which was depleted under Biden during the Ukraine war. Replenishing the reserve would boost short-term oil demand and encourage U.S. production.

And yes – in a symbolic gesture, Trump would approve the Keystone Pipeline, an issue that was an environmental flashpoint and which was halted after Biden canceled a key permit on his first day in office. But any company looking to build the multibillion-dollar effort to carry Canadian crude oil to the U.S. would need to start from scratch because things like easements have been returned to landowners.

“The American people can bank on President Trump using his executive power on day one to deliver on the promises he made to them on the campaign trail,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s transition spokesperson, said in a statement.

Many of the elements in the plan would require time to move through Congress or the nation’s regulatory system. Trump has promised to declare an energy emergency on his first day in office that could test whether he can bypass those barriers to impose some changes on an accelerated schedule.

Separately, as discussed last week, Trump will also put pressure on the highly politicized and pro-Biden International Energy Agency, the Paris-based energy watchdog that advises industrialized countries on energy policy. Republicans have criticized the IEA’s focus on policies to reduce emissions. Trump’s advisers have urged him to withhold funding unless the IEA takes a more pro-oil position.

“I have pushed Trump in person and his team generally on pressuring the IEA to return to its core mission of energy security and to pivot away from greenwashing,” said Dan Eberhart, CEO of oilfield service firm Canary.

Trump’s push to restore LNG exports comes less than a year after Biden put a freeze on new LNG export permits in January to study the environmental impacts, in a failed election-year move aimed at making gains with the party’s green voting blocs. Without the export permits, developers cannot go ahead with multi-year construction plans for new projects. Projects delayed include Venture Global’s CP2, Commonwealth LNG, and Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles complex, all of which are in Louisiana.

The United States is the world’s top producer of natural gas, and became the No. 1 exporter of LNG in 2022 as Europe looked to America to wean itself off Russia’s vast energy supplies following the invasion of Ukraine, and especially after the CIA blew up the Nord Stream pipeline and tried to blame Putin.

“The LNG issue is a lay-up and he plans to go strong on the issue,” said one of the sources.

There are five U.S. LNG export projects that have been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but are still awaiting permit approvals at the Department of Energy, federal records show.

Biden’s pause also halted necessary environmental reviews, portions of which may still be needed for the five pending DOE permits to withstand legal scrutiny.

Finally, Trump will look to accelerate drilling off the U.S. coast and on federal lands. The average time to complete a drilling permit on federal and Indian land averaged 258 days in the first three years of Biden’s administration, up from 172 days during the four years of Trump’s presidency, according to federal data. Trump is expected to expedite pending permits, hold sales more frequently and offer land that is more likely to deliver oil.

Still, despite the lag time in permit approvals, Biden’s Interior Department approved more onshore oil drilling permits on average than Trump’s first administration, federal records show. Oil output on federal lands and waters hit a record in 2023, while gas production reached its highest level since 2016, according to federal data.

Drilling activity on federal lands and waters accounts for about a quarter of U.S. oil production and 12% of gas output.