This is one of Donald Trump’s ambitions: boosting oil and gas extraction in the United States during his mandate. His leitmotif: ” Drill, baby, drill “, Translated by” Fore, baby, drill! But Donald Trump could quickly have difficulty putting this project into practice. Decryption.
The tenant of the White House promises him, the UNITED STATES are going “ drill ». The tone of his four years in power is therefore set. Its strategy to make America even larger will therefore go through fossil fuels. It is also important to recall, the production of gas and oil weighs very heavy in the American economy. It’s simple, the United States is the first crude oil producers in the world. In 2024, 13.2 million barrels were produced there per day. It is a record which should also be exceeded this year to reach 13.5 million. The country has never produced so much oil, but Donald Trump wants to go even further. The billionaire Scott Bessent, who has been appointed secretary to the treasury, tables an increase of more than 3 million barrels per day within three years.
Read tooUnited States: President elected Donald Trump wants to release fossil fuels
Concern for the global market
The United States is already producing a lot, but Donald Trump has many arguments to increase this production. He first wishes to fill out the country’s strategic reserves. Then he wants to be in a position of strength to export his oil And its gas worldwide. The American president also explains that if extraction sites open, this will create employment and demand in the face of the large supply of American gas or oil will lower prices.
But the heart of the concern is that production is quite substantial to absorb market demand. OPEC+members, organization of oil exporting countries, suffer from the production surplus. The risk is that the offer could be too abundant. This is one of the bases of the economy, when supply is greater than demand, mechanically prices decrease. The oil and gas majors could therefore simply refuse to press the accelerator. They will act in their interest and drill when it is profitable …
-Incitement measures
To this, it should be added that extracting gas and petroleum is expensive. The study, the creation, the opening of an extraction site is a significant investment, which for the moment is not worth it. For the moment, even if it will be easier to conduct these operations, in fact nothing indicates that companies will position themselves. Donald Trump intends to convince the adults in the sector by removing subsidy programs with renewable energies, also ending the regulations on vehicle pollution or aid for the purchase of electric cars.
Read tooInvest in renewable or not, the dilemma of oil companies
Measures that will encourage to reconstruct fossil, at least, which could change the situation. Above all, some oil companies will surely also play the watch and be discreet. It will also be necessary to count on the international geopolitical climate, the war in Ukraine And the question of Russian fossil in particular. Donald Trump is only president for four years, investments for giants in the sector are often irreversible!
