By Natalia Castro
President Donald Trump is giving the United States the energy it needs to make its mark on the world stage, literally. With the rollback of burdensome regulations, U.S. oil production has boomed, making the U.S. a competitive leader in the energy market for the first time in decades. This has sent strategic and powerful economic messages to international adversaries that the U.S. will return to its place as the world’s energy leader.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) announced in a January 16, 2018 report that the resilience of shale oil and gas in the U.S. has been integral to lowering the cost of oil internationally and unlocking new resources to maintain cost efficiency.
IEA executive director, Dr. Fatih Birol, explained in a testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, “This pushed the combined U.S. oil and gas output in 2040 to a level 50 percent higher than any other country has ever managed. ‘This is an impressive feat, which cannot be overstated. The United States is poised to become the undisputed oil and gas producer in the world over the next several decades.”
This can be accredited to President Trump’s energy expansion policies that have restored oil and gas industry across the country.
Through policies such as withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, rescinding the Clean Power Plan, approving the Keystone XL Pipeline and removing countless Obama era regulations on energy production, the Trump Administration has created an environment which fosters energy independence and growth rather than stifling it.
Domestically, this has spurred growth. Reuters’ Liz Hampton of Jan. 2018 reports, “The economic and political impacts of soaring U.S. output are breathtaking, cutting the nation’s oil imports by a fifth over a decade, providing high-paying jobs in rural communities and lowering consumer prices for domestic gasoline by 37 percent from a 2008 peak.”
The Houston Chronicle’s Collin Eaton, reporting from the energy hub of the world, found that oil companies and equipment supplies cut an estimated 440,000 jobs worldwide over the last three years as crude oil prices dropped. Now with U.S. shale drillers leading an expansion of energy production, hiring is finally back on the rise; 89 percent of energy employers surveyed told The Chronicle they will be boosting staffing levels and recruitment over the next 12 months.
Internationally and perhaps the most crucial part of our energy production is the prediction by the IEA that the U.S. will soon surpass Saudi Arabia and rival Russia for annual oil production. This year the IEA predicts the U.S. will achieve domestic crude oil production exceeding 10 million barrels a day and become the largest natural gas exporter by 2020.
The idea that the Russian government wanted Trump to become president can be disputed by this simple fact — Trump’s presidency has been economically devastating for Russia, as the Trump Administration has led the U.S. into a position to rival Russia’s energy dominance.
This is also vital in removing the dependence U.S. refiners have had on Venezuelan heavy sour crude oil, the opening of the Keystone XL pipeline provides direct, inexpensive access to this crude oil. Yet another move by the Trump Administration to use energy politics to distance ourselves from a violent and unstable state.
Through deregulating our energy industry and providing grounds for competition, the Trump Administration has expanded U.S. energy production to unprecedented lengths and restored our position as a global energy leader. This has been integral to domestic economic growth and weakening the power of abusive and authoritarian leaders in the global community. President Trump has effectively energized the country to lead the world.
Natalia Castro is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government.
