Source: Golden Ten Data.

On Wednesday, in the context of continuously falling crude oil prices and an impending trade war, President Trump met with top Company Executives of major oil companies at the White House to plan initiatives for increasing domestic Energy production. This meeting, which lasted over an hour, was Trump's first interaction with leaders from the Oil & Gas Industry since his return to the White House in January this year.

After the meeting, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters that the core topics discussed included promoting U.S. energy dominance, reforming the permitting process, and the necessity to enhance the national grid to improve competitiveness in the AI field.

Previously, the market generally expected that the Company Executives would express concerns over Trump's tariff policies and emphasize the industry's perspective that higher oil prices are needed to fulfill Trump's commitment to increase domestic Energy production. On Wednesday, the U.S. benchmark WTI Crude Oil closed at $67.16 per barrel, down from $75.89 on the first day of Trump's presidency.

However, Burgum stated that the meeting 'did not actually discuss price issues', as prices are determined by supply and demand.

Wright refuted claims that the crude oil price target could be set at $50. A Financial Times report on March 10 quoted Wright as saying that even if oil prices fell to that level, the U.S. Shale Oil industry could still increase production, which has left some industry leaders uneasy, as this price is below the production cost of many U.S. oil fields. Additionally, Trump expressed appreciation for the recent fall in crude oil prices, a few weeks after urging OPEC+ to increase production.

Wright stated, 'I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a $50 oil price before. I have always said that all CSI Commodity Equity Index prices are determined by supply and demand.' However, he added that the federal government can 'do what we can to eliminate obstacles to supply growth', which would naturally bring prices down.

Wright stated that this situation is already in progress, as the Trump administration is implementing a deregulation agenda that could increase demand for fossil fuels while lowering production costs for Oil & Gas. 'We have already seen prices decrease slightly because people expect it to be easier to produce Energy in the USA, and the risks are lower.'

Wright also stated, "The discussions regarding tariffs are still ongoing." He said, "Ultimately, the president's entire economic agenda is aimed at reducing domestic prices in the USA and increasing job opportunities in the USA."

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers stated that during the meeting, "President Trump reiterated his commitment to restore US Energy dominance and 'Drill, baby, drill.'"

Participants focused on the necessity of accelerating the permitting approval time and ensuring that project approvals are durable. Although the administration can achieve some simplified permitting initiatives through administrative means, Oil & Gas industry leaders emphasized the importance of passing these reforms through Congress and writing them into law.

Bergum stated, "We have indeed talked multiple times about the permitting approval issue because one of the problems facing this industry is the impact of regulation, which has one true purpose: to try to make their businesses unable to operate." Bergum mentioned that he and Wright have heard many such instances where "the time spent on the permitting approval process for our country's critical infrastructure projects is longer than the actual construction process."

Sources say that those attending the meeting included members of the executive committee of the American Petroleum Institute (API).

According to public information, the leaders of the API executive committee include Hess Corp CEO John Hess, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance, Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier, and Marathon Oil CEO Maryann Mannen.

Harold Hamm, founder and CEO of Continental Resources, one of Trump's biggest political donors, also attended the meeting.

API president Mike Sommers stated in a statement that industry executives are grateful for the opportunity to communicate with Trump. Sommers did not disclose the specific discussion content of the meeting.

Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO of Baker Hughes, stated that this was "a positive meeting, focused on the ongoing investment in Energy development and infrastructure, aligning with the government's goal of unleashing the potential of US Energy."

Discrepancies between Trump and the NENGYUANHANGYE.

When Trump and his allies came to power, they vowed to increase the record daily US Crude Oil Product output by an additional 3 million barrels and lower Energy prices for the inflation-burdened American public, with some measures including rolling back certain environmental regulations and expediting permit approvals.

However, Ed Hirs, an Energy economist at the University of Houston, stated: "The best way to maintain Oil production and Energy independence is to support higher Oil prices. ‘Drill, baby, drill’ is not the way forward. So I think they will subtly point this out to Trump."

Analysts at Wood Mackenzie, an Energy analysis firm, expect that due to the USA's tariff policy and OPEC+'s production increase plans, the average Brent Crude Oil benchmark price in 2025 will be $73 per barrel, a decrease of $7 compared to $80 per barrel in 2024.

Meanwhile, Trump is in a trade war with allies Mexico and Canada, to which the API has publicly expressed opposition, partly because these two neighboring countries are major sources of US Crude Oil imports.

Trump has imposed tariffs on Crude Oil imports from Canada and Mexico, but exemptions have been granted to producers who can prove compliance with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Last month, in response to the tariffs, Summers stated: "The Energy market is highly integrated, and free and fair cross-border trade is vital for providing US Consumers with affordable and reliable Energy."

The API has publicly released a five-point Energy plan targeting Trump and Congress, which includes permitting reforms, increased offshore Oil & Gas leasing, protection of tax credits for carbon capture and hydrogen production, as well as the elimination of subsidies for electric vehicles.

Editor/jayden