Trump urges 'energy dominance

The Trump administration said on Thursday it is taking steps to expand oil drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans as President Donald Trump continues to push for US "energy dominance" in the global market.

The Interior Department is rewriting a five-year drilling plan established by the Obama administration, with an eye towards opening areas in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans that now are off-limits to drilling. It's one of six initiatives that the president unveiled on Thursday in hopes of generating more energy exports and jobs.

"The golden era of American energy is now underway," Trump said in a Thursday speech at the Energy Department. "And I'll go a step further: The golden era of America is now underway, believe me. And you're all going to be a part of it in creating this exciting new future."

US oil production has boomed in recent years, and exports of oil and natural gas are surging, primarily because of improved drilling techniques such as fracking that have opened up production in previously out-of-reach areas. Trump has pledged to ramp up production further, withdrawing from the Paris climate change agreement because of the limitations that it could have placed on the burning of fossil fuels.

While Trump has promised that the initiative will create millions of jobs, the energy sector employs fewer workers than it did a decade ago despite the recent boom. The Labour Department said there are 655,300 jobs in mining coal and extracting oil and natural gas, down from a peak of 1.18 million jobs in 1981.

As the administration celebrated a self-proclaimed "energy week," Trump said more steps are needed to "unleash" domestic reserves and remove government regulations that could prevent the US from achieving global dominance in energy.

Trump and other officials say they are confident the country can pave the path toward energy dominance by exporting oil, gas and coal to markets around the world, and promoting nuclear energy and even renewables such as wind and solar power.

The president said Thursday that his administration has also approved construction of a new petroleum pipeline to Mexico. The State Department said it had issued a permit to NuStar Logistics for the construction and operation of the New Burgos Pipeline, which would have the capacity to deliver 108,000 barrels a day and would cross the US-Mexico border near Penitas, Texas.

Trump suggested the pipeline would run beneath the wall he intends to build along the US southern border to limit illegal immigration, human trafficking and drug smuggling.

"And that will go right under the wall, right?" Trump said.

He said that Sempra Energy signed an agreement to negotiate the sale of natural gas to South Korea and that the Energy Department is approving two applications to export natural gas from a Louisiana terminal. His administration will also perform a complete review of nuclear energy policy and seek to address barriers to financing coal plants overseas, as well as opening up offshore drilling.

Source: Khaleej Times