In the year since President Trump's election, U.S. oil and gas production has escalated, a seeming benchmark toward his goal of "energy dominance" for the nation. U.S. crude production averaged 9.6 million barrels a day in the last week of October, 12 percent more than a year ago. Natural gas output, which stalled in 2016, has climbed 13 percent since February. Exports of liquefied natural gas began last year and are climbing, with much more to follow, and the United States has also become the world's largest exporter of refined petroleum products. But the drivers for the current surge in U.S. fossil fuels are not Trump's "America First" policies. Key factors are the decadelong fracking revolution; a bipartisan green light from Congress in 2015 permitting U.S. crude oil exports, ending a 40-year ban; a 2016 agreement among Russia, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC producers to push up crude oil prices with production curbs that put more U.S. production in the money; and big investments to upgrade the competitiveness of U.S. refinery exports. New liquefied natural gas terminals and pipeline infrastructure now coming online have also been years in the making. The policies Trump has put in place or promised — to reduce regulation of energy production and infrastructure — are heartily cheered by his backers, just as environmental advocates denounce them. "President Donald Trump has made it a priority to take full advantage of America's energy abundance, and his administration continues to turn that into reality," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pronounced last month. Trump's goals for his current trip to Asia include a push for billion-dollar energy deals with China that could include pipeline and natural gas export facilities in the United States. A trade agreement in May between the Trump administration and China's government set the stage for expanding U.S. LNG shipments, including China on favorable terms as a buyer invited to strike gas deals with U.S. exporters. But a high-profile test of Trump's impact on the nation's energy production is coming as his administration prepares to open a record-setting lease sale in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve next month and to auction all available unleased federal areas in the Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf (OCS) in March — an area as big as New Mexico, the administration says...more
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