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Demonstrators protest against the Ceraweek by S&P Global energy conference, near the hotel where the conference is being attended, in Houston, Texas, on March 10, 2025 – Copyright AFP Mandel NGAN<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n John BIERS<\/em><\/p>\n Oil executives said Tuesday they are bullish on US petroleum investments in the emerging Trump era as some giants back away from renewable energy and beef up fossil fuel developments.<\/p>\n While there is still talk about decarbonization and climate change mitigation, speakers at this year\u2019s CERAWeek conference in Texas have welcomed the more \u201crealistic\u201d approach gaining favor in \u00a0industry and policy circles that includes a hefty emphasis on energy affordability and economic development.<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s unpredictable tariff announcements have pressured markets, but the lack of open criticism of the moves this week highlights an underlying affinity for the Trump White House after the Biden years.<\/p>\n TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said the French company would continue to heavily invest to boost its US liquefied natural gas business.\u00a0<\/p>\n He told an event panel that \u201cmaybe it\u2019s the time to go back to exploring the Gulf of America,\u201d employing the Trump administration\u2019s term for the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance praised the Trump administration\u2019s early moves to streamline permitting of new petroleum projects, pointing to a much-delayed Alaska oil project that was hindered by environmental challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to fix the system that we have here in the US,\u201d Lance said. \u201cThat\u2019s probably the biggest impediment to growing the energy system in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Benefit of the doubt \u2013<\/p>\n The comments highlighted the optimism in oil industry circles generated by President Donald Trump, who has reset the tone from Washington after predecessor Joe Biden lambasted the industry for spending billions of dollars on share repurchases.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tariffs\u00a0are \u201cgetting talked about in back rooms and private conversations,\u201d said Chris Treanor, executive director of the Partnership to Address Global Emissions, who described the industry as having \u201cenough good will\u201d to give Trump the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US industry doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s being targeted by this administration, whereas it felt like it was targeted by the previous administration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But tariff talk has dominated some public panels at CERA Week, including one Tuesday in which Canadian officials from across the region expressed incredulity at Trump\u2019s latest tariff actions.<\/p>\n Potential US tariffs on Canadian crude would \u201cvery negatively\u201d affect many consumers, said Brian Jean, energy and minerals minister of the oil-rich Alberta Province, who described widespread anger in Canada at Trump\u2019s talk of annexing the country.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are very shocked and surprised, and it\u2019s going to change people\u2019s attitude about the United States,\u201d Jean said.<\/p>\n \u2013 \u2018Continuous growth\u2019 for oil \u2013<\/p>\n Begun in 1983 by Daniel Yergin, author of The Prize, a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the oil industry, CERAWeek is an annual Houston gathering that has expanded beyond its petroleum roots to include the power and renewable sectors.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Secretary of Energy Chris Wright opened the conference on Monday, vowing to take steps to ease the path for fossil fuels to boost supplies of affordable energy and sharply criticizing the Biden administration\u2019s focus on climate change.<\/p>\n One of the most dramatic shifts in orientation has been from BP, which announced last month that it was trimming its renewable energy efforts and retreating from carbon emissions targets as it ramps up investment in fossil fuels.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re back to our roots,\u201d BP Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss told the conference Tuesday, describing ramped up investments in exploration and production in the United States and the Middle East.<\/p>\n Biden\u2019s administration enacted aggressive fuel economy standards designed to boost electric vehicles and generous tax credits to encourage EV battery projects and greater use of solar and wind power.\u00a0<\/p>\n A couple of years ago, CERA Week was dominated by talk of \u201cnet zero\u201d emission by the mid-century in line with the Paris Climate Agreement that challenges the future viability of crude oil and natural gas.<\/p>\n But at this year\u2019s CERA, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser expressed confidence in oil, saying \u201cwe see continuous growth\u201d of demand.<\/p>\n TotalEnergies\u2019 Pouyanne shrugged off talk in Europe of phasing out natural gas, pointing to Germany\u2019s needs after phasing out nuclear power, saying \u201cthis is\u00a0a message, and then you have the reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n