Will curtailing regulations really unleash a new wave of drilling?
Bruce Bullock, director of SMU's Maguire Energy Institute, says he believes actions by the Trump administration could boost oil production.
By Steve Kaskovich
On the new White House website, the Trump administration lays out its America First Energy Plan, “recognizing the vast untapped energy reserves right here in America” and embracing the shale oil and gas revolution to achieve energy independence from OPEC.
With policy stating “for too long, we’ve been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy,” this sounds promising for Texas—home to the shale revolution. But will rolling back regulations really unleash a new wave of drilling in a world already awash in oil? . . .
Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at SMU’s Cox School of Business, says he believes actions by the Trump administration could boost oil production further and potentially generate hundreds of thousands of jobs the new president foresees.
“Relaxing regulations could free up capital for production,” Bullock says. “And expediting permits to drill on huge swaths of federal lands could spur new exploration.” He believes if Trump is able to get tax reform and other measures through Congress to boost economic growth from 2 to 4 percent, it “would have a positive effect on both the price of oil and demand for oil … we would see more activity as result of that.”
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