The U.S. benchmark for crude oil is sitting at just under $60 per barrel, the threshold below which American oil producers struggle to profit and justify new activity. And the number of active oil-drilling rigs has plunged about 15% for the year as of Jan. 16. Despite all that, previous drilling activity and oilfield efficiency gains have pushed domestic oil production near world-leading, all-time highs of 13.8 million barrels a day—a stubbornly high level that’s contributing to lower oil prices. U.S. producers are at least pleased that Trump has expedited green-lighting energy projects and rolled back environmental protections.
At the same time, Trump is urging U.S. companies to move into Venezuela and spend more than $100 billion to rebuild its dilapidated infrastructure and pump more heavy Venezuelan crude oil.
“Venezuela is going to make more money in the next six months than they’’ve made in the last 20 years. Every major oil company is coming in with us,” Trump said Jan. 21 at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
In the U.S., Trump said, “we’ll soon be averaging less than $2 a gallon.” The U.S. average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel is $2.76 per gallon this week, down 32 cents in a year.
