U.S. Energy Sector Gathers Policy Wish List for New Trump Administration

(Reuters) — With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump two months away from taking office and able to act on his campaign promises, energy executives are lining up to offer new proposals to the mix.

Trump has vowed to scrap offshore wind projects, roll back climate regulations, open more federal lands and waters to oil and gas drilling. Advisors have prepared executive orders to quit the Paris climate agreement that ties the U.S. to emissions reductions.

The energy industry has prepared its own wish list for the second-term chief to consider putting into effect. Here are some of the top ideas put forth by industry groups and executives:

Repeal or replace motor vehicle emissions regulations

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration proposed cutting tailpipe emissions by 50% from 2026 levels by 2032. A separate set of fuel economy rules enacted this year would encourage more electric and hybrid vehicles.

"We think that this is a time in which Americans should have more choices, not fewer, when it comes to the energy that they use," said Dustin Meyer, policy chief for trade group American Petroleum Institute.

Trump has vowed to reverse the Biden administration's electric vehicle rules.

Drop a Department of Energy climate review that paused export permits for new LNG export facilities

A pause on pending and future export permits for new liquefied natural gas projects is tops on LNG and natural gas executives' priorities.

"Using LNG exports as a political weapon - I hope the (Trump) administration doesn't consider this - especially against our allies," said Bryan Sheffield, a former shale CEO now running energy private equity firm Formentera Partners.

One of the projects affected by the pause, Energy Transfer's $13-billion LNG-export facility in Louisiana, is happy to have the review end. Trump's election victory assures a financial go-ahead for its Lake Charles LNG project, said co-CEO Marshall McCrea.

Expand access to federal lands and waters

"Regulations, particularly on federal lands, are incredibly burdensome - operators are dealing with a very inefficient process that has a cost and slows down development," said Michael Oestmann, CEO of gas producer Tall City Exploration.

The Biden administration has limited oil and gas drilling in Alaska, and last year, adopted a congressionally mandated five-year plan for offshore oil drilling that included just three sales - the lowest number in any five-year plan since the government began publishing them in 1980.

"Demand is growing around the world. The question is, where is the supply going to come from? We think it should come from the United States, and we need a policy landscape that reflects that," said API's Meyer.

Accelerate pipeline and energy infrastructure permitting

The fossil fuel industry has objected to delays in permitting everything from pipelines to wind farms that have slowed infrastructure development or raised costs.

"There is a massive opportunity to build infrastructure - natural gas processing facilities, export infrastructure and possibly new pipelines," said Trisha Curtis, CEO of oil and gas consulting and advisory shop PetroNerds.

Permitting limbo means projects take years before being canceled, industry body API wrote, adding the new administration must work with Congress to pass comprehensive permitting reform.

The organization also has called for reforming the National Environmental Policy Act. It says changes are needed to provide greater certainty regarding timelines and scope of environmental reviews, judicial reforms to clarify when, where and who can file legal challenges. The API also wants changes to the Clean Water Act, which gave the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to implement pollution control programs.

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