Unleashing America’s dominant natural resources, ensuring energy security through LNG exports, and protecting consumer choice through revised tailpipe rules were all central themes of the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) “State of American Energy 2025” event Tuesday.
While industry leaders had little debate that the Biden Administration’s many efforts seeking to limit the oil and gas industry has been damaging to the U.S. energy market, API’s panel pointed out specifically how the incoming Trump Administration can work with industry in order to reverse damage and secure American energy leadership now and into the future.
At #SOAE2025, Senate Majority @LeaderJohnThune tells API President & CEO @MJ_Sommers that Congress & the incoming administration have a chance to capitalize on America’s Energy Opportunity. More on how oil and natural gas bolster U.S. prosperity & security:https://t.co/AnicnL4dlo pic.twitter.com/NjN3J0YLXC
— American Petroleum Institute (@APIenergy) January 14, 2025
The panel – along with API’s “Five Point Policy Roadmap” – offers the United States and policymakers a clear and structured plan to keep American energy affordable, accessible, and superior.
These five points include:
- Protect consumer choice;
- Bolster geopolitical strength;
- Leverage America’s natural resources;
- Reform permitting system;
- Advance sensible tax policy.
The event featured four notable speakers: API President and CEO Mike Sommers, Hess Corporation President and CEO John Hess, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR), and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). All four of the panelists seemed optimistic about the incoming administration’s favorability to America’s natural resources and shared their hopes for how policymakers can unleash U.S. energy policy.
Lift LNG Pause, Promote Offshore Drilling, and Support American Energy Dominance Abroad
Chief among those hopes is for the Trump Administration to lift the LNG Pause, which Senator Thune said he hopes “they address on day one.” Industry leaders went beyond asking for the LNG pause to be lifted, calling also for a further increase of LNG exports in order to promote American energy dominance abroad.
With a supportive administration in the White House, industry leaders see an opportunity to build out American energy supply and achieve energy “dominance” abroad. Representative Westerman pointed out that a surplus of American energy can be exported abroad, increasing our allies’ energy security and reducing their reliability on large — currently adversarial — nations like Russia, Iran, and China.
“We need to be not only energy independent, we need to be energy dominant. We need to use our energy not only to make America better but also to help our allies across the world. Energy has a very strong link to national security and to our position in the global marketplace. We’ve only just begun, especially with the amount of known natural gas deposits we have. We have to bring those deposits to market. Everybody wins when America produces more energy.” (emphasis added)
Senate Majority Leader Thune echoed this point on national and geopolitical security:
“Europe learned the hard way that, when you become dependent on adversarial nations for energy, it comes back to bite you. We certainly saw that with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when it comes to natural gas. Making America more of a resource and supplier for our allies around the world makes the world safer and less dangerous because some of our allies are subject to hostile regimes. (emphasis added)”
The United States was the globe’s top LNG exporter in 2024, and industry leaders like John Hess see American energy’s dominance on the global stage as only the beginning due to opportunities to bring more natural gas to market as well as increase offshore drilling.
“The Gulf of Mexico slowed down quite a bit [during the Biden Administration]. The Gulf wasn’t getting the attention it usually gets, now, it’s having a renaissance… The Gulf is going to be a cornerstone of increased oil supply for our country and the world.”
Of course, the Biden administration recently announced a historic ban on offshore drilling, which incoming President Trump has promised to reverse immediately.
Embrace an “All-The-Above” Approach to Energy and Reform America’s Permitting System
Industry leaders called on the Trump Administration to counter the Biden administration’s damaging practices against the oil and natural gas industry in a number of manners, including by refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – which was depleted to historic lows, supporting all forms of energy rather than picking and choosing which ones succeed, and revising Biden’s tailpipe standards that favor EVs over hybrid cars and threaten consumer choice.
Sommers highlighted the need for the Trump Administration to let the market dictate the energy economy, and called for an end to vehicle mandates:
“It is about ensuring that Americans are free to choose what works, while supporting innovation and energy security.”
Senator Thune emphasized that this, as well as eliminating “anti-energy regulations,” is a Senate focus, along with the need for permitting reform to unleash America’s energy abundance.
API estimates that more than $34 billion in infrastructure investments have been delayed due to the federal review process, hindering overall production and energy security efforts.
Looking Ahead
Overall, industry seems hopeful about the next four years, but urged a cohesive plan for policymakers to get to work. As Hess said:
“At the end of the day, energy policy is about three things. It’s about energy security, energy affordability, and energy transition.”
And as Sommers emphasized in his keynote address, the mandate for increased American energy is clear:
“As this election made clear, energy was on the ballot – and American energy won. From coast to coast, voters embraced a future where American energy thrives – prioritizing our own resources over foreign imports.”
Bottom Line: The U.S. energy industry is poised to capitalize on the next four years by growing domestic energy supply in order to meet the ever-growing energy demand of the modern world, but this requires sensible and energy-positive policies from America’s leaders to secure American energy leadership for decades to come.
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