In his first week as President, Donald Trump has kept his promise to unleash American energy. Across the slew of executive orders that have been signed since his inauguration, there are several notable actions that will bolster the U.S. oil and gas industry. In an effort to expedite permitting, boost drilling and speed up pipeline construction, Trump declared a “national energy emergency” to reverse Biden-era policies his administration felt hamstrung progress. Additionally, he signed orders to promote oil and gas development in Alaska, utilizing the regions vast natural resources. This apparent policy break from the previous Biden administration is extremely promising, especially for those like me who have long emphasized the need for American energy independence as the energy sector rises to meet increasing forecasted energy demand.
In reorienting our nation’s energy priorities, President Trump’s executive orders have the potential to catalyze the private sector’s ability to harness our domestic resources and meet growing energy demand in the years to come.
With regards to the energy grid, these executive orders will launch critical capital investment, promoting indispensable modernization efforts and energy security measures that boost resilience. These orders also address grid stability by encouraging infrastructure investment to improve and reinforce our physical assets. At large, energy independence reduces American reliance on imports, better insulating the domestic supply chain from events across the globe and help keep electricity and gasoline affordable.
A renewed emphasis on infrastructure projects was very clearly outlined in Trump’s first few days in office, including the reversal of the LNG export pause. On a fundamental level, these orders promote and prioritize oil and gas infrastructure by reducing regulatory barriers, expediting critical projects, and increasing access to valuable resources like federal lands and waters. Streamlined permitting and reviews will enable technological expansion – such as nuclear projects and capabilities – and speed up construction. Traditional energy sources offer stability, scalability, and baseload power when renewables like solar are offline, or need additional support.
For local communities, President Trump’s orders reflect his administration’s long-term goal of stimulating economic growth. Harnessing America’s abundant oil and natural gas resources will help drive economic prosperity, aiding state and local tax revenues that go towards critical services like hospitals, roads and public schools. Additionally, employment opportunities in sectors like logistics, extraction, and short-term construction projects are likely to increase, due in part to the construction of data centers that will require effective and efficient sources of energy.
For example, technology firms interested in these data centers are already in conversations with pipeline companies to provide natural gas directly to the prospective projects. In line with his goal to facilitate economic growth through energy dominance, President Trump announced plans to invest nearly $500 billion in data center construction through a new venture dubbed “Stargate.” In light of the news, Wall Street analysts predicted our abundance of natural gas resources will help power these massive data center buildouts given the actions President Trump has taken to unleash our domestic energy sector and expedite construction projects.
The President’s energy orders and facilitation of investment in our local and state economies, work towards a common goal of his administration: strengthening American national security. American energy dominance reduces any reliance on foreign sources of energy and encourages our allies to turn to us to import their oil and natural gas instead of countries like Russia or China. Refocusing efforts to maximize our domestic resources and supply chains will better insulate our markets from foreign actors and unforeseen circumstances that could affect both energy availability and prices. Energy diplomacy will help shape our key relationships, and open new avenues of cooperation across the globe.
Common sense energy policies are back on the table. I encourage President Trump to continue to make progress in his bid for American energy dominance. His recent actions to shift energy policies are only the beginning.
Patrice Douglas is an attorney and former chairwoman of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
