Marking the 1st Anniversary of President Trump’s Executive Actions in Support of U.S. Energy Infrastructure

Tomorrow, January 24, 2018, marks the one year anniversary of President Trump’s signing executive actions that allowed the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines to move forward.  Both lines had been stalled by actions (or inactions) of the Obama Administration.  Less than six months after President Trump signed his orders, the first shipment of crude oil was made through the Dakota Access pipeline and recently, TransCanada announced it has secured enough 20-year commitments from shippers to move forward with KeystoneXL pipeline.  (Note: TransCanada has not publicly announced a final investment decision for Keystone.)

According to the Wall Street Journal, during the first five months of Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access pipeline’s operation, the state of North Dakota received more than $43 million in revenue from the oil patch as development grew to more than 1.1 million barrels per day.  The state’s Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger is predicting a biennial revenue bump of up to $250 million from the increased production and shipments, saying the revenue has “exceeded expectations”.

President Trump’s support of domestic energy development and energy infrastructure as well as the industry’s deployment of new discovery and recovery technologies, has put the U.S. on the cusp of reaching a record high in crude oil production, ultimately passing Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s top oil producer.

Additionally, there are several privately funded energy pipeline infrastructure projects currently under construction or consideration in the U.S.  During construction these projects support manufacturing industries, can employ thousands of workers, and add billions of dollars to the U.S. economy.

The GAIN Coalition issued the following statement, which can be attributed to me, Craig Stevens, spokesman for the coalition:

“Within days of taking office, President Donald Trump acted swiftly to keep his promise to support expanded domestic energy production and energy infrastructure – actions that have already had a positive impact on our nation’s economy and energy security.  Now as President Trump prepares to unveil a massive infrastructure bill, we hope that Members of Congress will support his efforts to bring about more funding and regulatory certainty which will allow public and private investment in much needed infrastructure projects.  From roadways and waterways, oil and water pipelines, airports and rail lines, 2018 can be the year that will begin to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure.”