President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order formally creating a National Energy Dominance Council and directed it to move quickly to drive up already record-setting domestic oil and gas production. (Pics/AFP)
Updated On: 2025-02-15 03:48 PM IST
Compiled by : ronak mastakar
Trump's administration also announced it has granted conditional export authorisation for a huge liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, the first approval of new LNG exports since former President Joe Biden paused consideration of them a year ago
And Trump said he has directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to undo Biden's ban on future offshore oil drilling on the East and West coasts. Biden's last-minute action last month "viciously took out" more than 625 million acres offshore that could contribute to the nation's "net worth," Trump said
Trump also vowed to revive a cancelled pipeline that would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York, saying it could slash energy prices in the Northeast by as much as 70 per cent
Taken together, the actions underscored Trump's commitment to increase US energy production, particularly fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and remove regulatory barriers that may slow that down. Trump said the United States is blessed with "liquid gold" and has urged energy companies to sell more oil and gas to allies in Europe and around the globe
"We're going to make more money than anybody's ever made with energy," Trump said at an event Friday in the Oval Office. The United States has "clean energy, very clean beautiful energy," he said. "We're lucky to have it. I call it liquid gold under our feet. And we're going to utilise it"
The new council, to be headed by Burgum, will be granted sweeping authority over federal agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, with a mandate to cut bureaucratic red tape, enhance private sector investments and focus on innovation instead of "totally unnecessary regulation," Trump said
Trump also said he would roll back efficiency standards for dishwashers and other appliances. And Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said he would work with Congress to repeal a waiver Biden's EPA granted allowing California to impose strict air pollution standards on cars and trucks
Biden said in January 2024 that he was delaying consideration of new natural gas export terminals in the United States, even as gas shipments to Europe and Asia have soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine
