On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed several energy-related executive orders intended to boost U.S. oil and gas production and exports by declaring a national energy emergency, removing regulatory barriers, and expediting permitting approval for oil and gas projects. In a new insight, Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Shuting Pomerleau analyzes the potential impact of these orders.

• The United States is already the world’s largest oil and gas producer and a net exporter, which makes the Trump Administration’s declaration of a national energy emergency questionable.
• The EOs will likely have limited immediate impact on U.S. oil and gas production, as many of the policies must be enacted through legislation or agency rulemaking; moreover, as U.S. oil and gas producers already operate at or near full capacity, it’s not feasible for them to suddenly increase their production substantially.
• While deregulation could improve the regulatory environment for oil and gas companies, it is demand and return on investment that are the main drivers of U.S. oil and gas production.

Read the analysis.