US gas producers, already pumping out record volumes, could soon be receiving offers of cash from the federal government to motivate even more drilling. But whether companies would be amenable to such incentives is an open question, as most heed shareholders’ calls for restraint until prices see a sustained recovery.
As part of its fossil fuel-heavy “US energy dominance” agenda, the Trump administration has begun implementing a plan to funnel cash toward gas and oil development while rolling back incentives for renewables such as wind and solar.
The move goes beyond the White House’s existing efforts to speed up regulatory approvals for gas and oil infrastructure and would leverage tools such as the Defense Production Act (DPA) and government loan programs.
“The president is committed to ensuring that access to capital is no longer the limiting factor in deploying the energy and mining projects that will power American growth and security for decades to come,” a senior administration official told Energy Intelligence.
A lack of timely financing has also stymied some projects, according to the official. “This disconnect between federal authorization and private capital deployment is becoming a systemic obstacle to energy development. The administration is taking this issue seriously.”
