Latest news with #CERA
Bloomberg
22-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Will 'Drill, Baby, Drill' Work for the US Economy?
Bloomberg's Alix Steel talks to oil producers and policymakers at CERA week. Saad Rahim of Trafigura and Harold Hamm of Continental Resources tell us why an industry that wanted to pump more oil into the market is now having second thoughts. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU, US eye greater energy ties amid Trump frictions
European and US policy makers are eyeing deeper ties around natural gas even as trade conflict boils and President Donald Trump challenges the long-running transatlantic alliance. EU officials appearing on public panels at the CERA Week energy gathering spoke optimistically about the potential for rising US liquefied natural gas exports to play an even bigger role after the fuel offset key supplies following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. "Hopefully by 2027, we will be down to zero (fossil fuel imports from Russia)," Jovita Neliupsiene, ambassador of the European Union Delegation to the United States, said on a panel Wednesday. Earlier this week, Dan Jorgensen, commissioner for energy and housing in the European Commission, said the bloc now gets 13 percent of its gas from Russia, down from 45 percent in February 2022. "Indirectly we have filled Putin's war chest," said Jorgensen, who described the goal as "100 percent free of molecules from Russia." The statements come as supplies of US LNG exports appear poised to surge higher after Trump reversed a move by predecessor Joe Biden to freeze LNG export permitting. Trump administration officials have pointed to higher LNG exports as a way for Europe to address Trump's focus on trade imbalances. At CERA, Trump's Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum both spoke of LNG exports as a way to bolster an ally. European officials did not comment on Trump's friendly posture towards Russian President Vladimir Putin which has come as the White House has broadly distanced itself from traditional allies in Europe. On Wednesday, the European Union unveiled counter-tariffs on US goods after 25 percent US tariffs went into effect on steel and aluminum. - Europe's dilemma - While EU officials set government policy, the decisions about fuel transactions are taken at the corporate level, a point alluded to Laurent Ruseckas of S&P Global, who moderated Wednesday's panel, "Energy and the future of European Security." "It's become sort of a cliche to say that the transatlantic relationship now has become transactional, but in the energy business, transactions are what we're all about," Ruseckas said. LNG is one place where the United States and Europe are still "potentially extremely well aligned," said Ruseckas. The Trump administration's positive stance towards fossil fuels is expected to roughly double the amount of US natural gas exported over the next five years, said Matthew Palmer, head of North American natural gas at S&P Global Commodity Insights. Much of the LNG in this growing "wave" has been through relatively short-term contracts between suppliers like Total and Shell and European utilities that may not want to lock themselves into long-term agreements, Palmer said. "We love the US because you have the cheapest gas of the planet," TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said this week in vowing more US LNG investment. Begun in 1983 by Daniel Yergin, author of The Prize, a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the oil industry, CERAWeek is an annual Houston gathering that has expanded beyond its petroleum roots to include the power and renewable sectors. The conference also includes panels with geopolitical experts analyzing what the early days of the Trump administration portends for international alliances. Europe has realized "they have to go it on their own," said Brookings Institution senior fellow Angela Stent. "I see now the beginning of a long term shift of the Europeans realizing that what they have had for these past nearly 80 years is really gone." Some Europeans are privately discussing "why should I trade reliance on Vladimir Putin for reliance on Donald Trump?" said Chris Treanor, executive director of the Partnership to Address Global Emissions. But the current surge of US LNG investment means "there will be more gas available for European buyers, should they be interested in pursuing it." jmb/bgs
Iraqi News
11-03-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Trump's Energy Secretary vows reversal of Biden climate policies
Houston – The US Energy Secretary vowed Monday to reset federal energy policy to favor fossil fuels and deprioritize climate change as industry leaders gathered at their biggest event since President Donald Trump returned to office. In the conference's opening session, Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited the Trump administration's moves to cut red tape delaying oil projects and promote liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) as examples of a pivot away from policies pursued under former president Joe Biden. 'The Trump administration will end the Biden administration's irrational quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens,' Wright told a packed auditorium for the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference. Since returning to Washington less than two months ago, Trump and his team have overhauled the existing economic order at a dizzying pace, launching trade wars against allies and hollowing government agencies the president and his allies dislike. Trump made energy policy a central part of his agenda with his day-one 'Unleashing American Energy' executive order, promising during his inaugural address to 'end the Green New Deal' in favor of 'that liquid gold under our feet.' Environmentalists have criticized these shifts as leaving the world vulnerable to catastrophic climate change. Wright's 'speech made clear that he and the rest of the Trump administration are ready to sacrifice our communities and climate for the profits of the fossil fuel industry,' said Allie Rosenbluth, US campaign manager for Oil Change International, which planned a rally in downtown Houston outside the CERA event. – How much change ahead? – Energy played a key supporting role in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, in which he pointed to higher gasoline prices as a reason more production was needed, embodied by his slogan: 'Drill, Baby, Drill.' Trump's January 20 executive order represents a potentially wide-ranging attack on tax incentives which had been embraced by energy companies to advance billions of dollars of energy transition projects. These projects were connected to laws enacted during Biden's presidency to mitigate climate change. Some pundits think Trump will stop short of actions canceling existing projects where workers have been hired, including many in conservative districts. But the abrupt shift from the climate-focused Biden to Trump likely 'turns 2025 into a paralyzed year where folks are hesitant to push on any kind of decarbonization,' said Dan Pickering of Pickering Energy Partners, a Houston advisory and investment firm. Wright described his approach as an 'all the above' stance that can include renewable energy, although he told a press conference after the address that offshore wind projects were a waste of money that are 'very unpopular' with communities. At an event last week in Louisiana, Wright touted an announcement by Venture Global of an $18 billion expansion of a liquefied natural gas export facility, highlighting Trump's reversal of a Biden freeze on permitting new LNG export capacity. Trump has ridiculed the environmental concerns at the center of Biden's policy, championing LNG exports as a way to strengthen America's ties with energy importing countries. But there has been widespread skepticism about Trump's message urging the industry to significantly boost oil and gas drilling in order to lift output and lower energy prices. Wall Street has also signaled a clear preference for robust industry profits that can continue to allow for dividends and stock buybacks. – Questions for Europe – At CERA, European officials will meet on panels to discuss Europe at a crossroads after shifting away from Russian energy supplies. In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US LNG 'played a super important role' for Europe as the continent sought to lessen its dependence on Russian gas, said Jonathan Elkind, a fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. However, Trump's realignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin has forced European leaders to reckon with the system's long-term viability. For the near future, including at CERA, Elkind expects European officials to continue to speak optimistically of the prospects for more US LNG. But 'at the back of their mind… it's pretty hard to tell whether Donald Trump is friend or foe and that's a shocking thing to say after 70 years of a close alliance,' Elkind said.
Arab News
10-03-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Trump's energy chief vows reversal of Biden climate policies
HOUSTON: The US energy secretary vowed Monday to reset federal energy policy to favor fossil fuels and deprioritize climate change as industry leaders gathered at their biggest event since President Donald Trump returned to office. In the conference's opening session, Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited the Trump administration's moves to cut red tape that is delaying oil projects and promote liquefied natural gas exports as examples of a pivot away from policies pursued under former president Joe Biden. 'The Trump administration will end the Biden administration's irrational quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens,' Wright told a packed auditorium for the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference. Since returning to Washington seven weeks ago, Trump and his team have overhauled the existing economic order at a dizzying pace, launching trade wars against allies and hollowing government agencies the president and his allies dislike. Trump made energy policy a central part of his agenda with his day-one 'Unleashing American Energy' executive order, promising during his inaugural address to 'end the Green New Deal' in favor of 'that liquid gold under our feet.' But Mark Brownstein, senior vice president at the Environmental Defense Fund, said Wright's tone was 'long on rhetoric,' adding, 'at some point the administration needs to get off the campaign stump speech and get on with the business of governing.' Brownstein described many CERA attendees as uncertain about investments, not only because of Trump's shifting position on energy and climate change, but also the nearly daily pivots on tariffs. 'The energy industry is a capital-intensive business and what they need to deploy capital at scale is certainty and consistency,' Brownstein told AFP. CERA's opening day coincided with deep stock market losses after Trump over the weekend refused to rule out a US recession. Protesters held boisterous demonstrations outside the event in Houston. Advocacy group Oil Change International blasted the oil industry for pollution near industrial facilities and for fossil fuel investments that are worsening climate change. Energy played a key supporting role in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, in which he pointed to higher gasoline prices as a reason more production was needed, embodied by his slogan: 'Drill, baby, drill.' Trump's January 20 executive order represents a potentially wide-ranging attack on tax incentives which had been embraced by energy companies to advance billions of dollars of energy transition projects. These projects were connected to laws enacted under Biden to mitigate climate change. Some pundits think Trump will stop short of actions canceling existing projects where workers have been hired, including many in conservative districts. Appearing just after Wright, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth warned that 'swinging from one extreme to the other' on policy is 'not the right policy approach in a long cycle industry like this.' Wirth welcomed Trump's executive orders on permitting reform, but said 'we need to see some of this stuff put into legislation so that it's more durable and it's not at risk of being swung back in another direction by a future administration' with different priorities. Wright downplayed the upheaval on trade policy after his remarks, noting Trump dropped many of his most impactful tariffs in his first term. It's 'too early to say on tariffs, but I feel quite confident having a smart businessman every day working for America writ large, not an interest group or a particular industry,' Wright said. 'I'm pretty optimistic about the outcome.' Wright said there were 'vigorous' closed-door debates about tariffs within the administration, rejecting the idea that there was ideological uniformity on the issue. He also suggested the Trump administration wouldn't challenge all Biden administration renewable energy projects, saying that while he wouldn't have picked some of the same projects for loans, 'we inherit a loan book... and we follow the rule of law.'
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Energy Secretary vows reversal of Biden climate policies
The US Energy Secretary vowed Monday to reset federal energy policy to favor fossil fuels and deprioritize climate change as industry leaders gathered at their biggest event since President Donald Trump returned to office. In the conference's opening session, Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited the Trump administration's moves to cut red tape delaying oil projects and promote liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) as examples of a pivot away from policies pursued under former president Joe Biden. "The Trump administration will end the Biden administration's irrational quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens," Wright told a packed auditorium for the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) conference. Since returning to Washington less than two months ago, Trump and his team have overhauled the existing economic order at a dizzying pace, launching trade wars against allies and hollowing government agencies the president and his allies dislike. Trump made energy policy a central part of his agenda with his day-one "Unleashing American Energy" executive order, promising during his inaugural address to "end the Green New Deal" in favor of "that liquid gold under our feet." Environmentalists have criticized these shifts as leaving the world vulnerable to catastrophic climate change. Wright's "speech made clear that he and the rest of the Trump administration are ready to sacrifice our communities and climate for the profits of the fossil fuel industry," said Allie Rosenbluth, US campaign manager for Oil Change International, which planned a rally in downtown Houston outside the CERA event. - How much change ahead? - Energy played a key supporting role in Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, in which he pointed to higher gasoline prices as a reason more production was needed, embodied by his slogan: "Drill, Baby, Drill." Trump's January 20 executive order represents a potentially wide-ranging attack on tax incentives which had been embraced by energy companies to advance billions of dollars of energy transition projects. These projects were connected to laws enacted during Biden's presidency to mitigate climate change. Some pundits think Trump will stop short of actions canceling existing projects where workers have been hired, including many in conservative districts. But the abrupt shift from the climate-focused Biden to Trump likely "turns 2025 into a paralyzed year where folks are hesitant to push on any kind of decarbonization," said Dan Pickering of Pickering Energy Partners, a Houston advisory and investment firm. Wright described his approach as an "all the above" stance that can include renewable energy, although he told a press conference after the address that offshore wind projects were a waste of money that are "very unpopular" with communities. At an event last week in Louisiana, Wright touted an announcement by Venture Global of an $18 billion expansion of a liquefied natural gas export facility, highlighting Trump's reversal of a Biden freeze on permitting new LNG export capacity. Trump has ridiculed the environmental concerns at the center of Biden's policy, championing LNG exports as a way to strengthen America's ties with energy importing countries. But there has been widespread skepticism about Trump's message urging the industry to significantly boost oil and gas drilling in order to lift output and lower energy prices. Wall Street has also signaled a clear preference for robust industry profits that can continue to allow for dividends and stock buybacks. - Questions for Europe - At CERA, European officials will meet on panels to discuss Europe at a crossroads after shifting away from Russian energy supplies. In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US LNG "played a super important role" for Europe as the continent sought to lessen its dependence on Russian gas, said Jonathan Elkind, a fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. However, Trump's realignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin has forced European leaders to reckon with the system's long-term viability. For the near future, including at CERA, Elkind expects European officials to continue to speak optimistically of the prospects for more US LNG. But "at the back of their mind... it's pretty hard to tell whether Donald Trump is friend or foe and that's a shocking thing to say after 70 years of a close alliance," Elkind said. jmb/jgc
