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Permalink Reply by Joe B. Lovelace on April 6, 2025 at 7:46

Trump Promised to Lower Energy Prices—but It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/oil-prices-trump-tariffs-tr...

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on April 6, 2025 at 8:21

Thanks, Joe.  I can imagine what the Wall Street Journal has to report on the topic.  Unfortunately the article is pay walled and I ditched my subscription when Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation bought the Journal.

I don't miss it as it is only marginally more reliable and truthful than Fox News.

When someone tells me something that is ridiculous and untrue I have to ask,  Is that true or did you hear it on Fox News?

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Permalink Reply by Joe B. Lovelace on April 6, 2025 at 11:07

Sorry for the link glitch.  Here are parts of the article.  Joe

President Trump had vowed to lower energy prices. His friends in the oil patch never dreamed he would do so by upending the global economy. 

Oil and gas donors spent tens of millions of dollars backing Trump’s second ride to the White House after he promised a new golden age of oil prosperity. They bet he would make fossil fuels a centerpiece of his second term and help them lower production costs, attract investors and build new pipelines and export terminals to tap in to new markets.  

Instead, frackers—and everyone else—are caught in a trade war that investors fear will clobber the global economy and sink demand for crude oil. Over two trading sessions, benchmark U.S. oil prices fell almost 14% to $61.99 a barrel, their lowest level since April 2021. That’s a price that shale drillers say would eventually hinder their investment plans. 

“It’s a buckle-up and hold on to what we have situation,” said Josh Lorenz, co-founder and co-president of West Texas oil and gas investment firm PetroLima. “Whiplash is the right term.” 

Falling prices put an additional squeeze on an already tight job market for petroleum engineers, geologists and drilling-rig hands. Recruiters say oil-industry workers are already having a tough time finding jobs after a series of layoffs in the wake of mergers and other cost-cutting moves.

In a survey released last month by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, energy executives decried the Trump administration’s suggestion that oil prices should hit $50 a barrel. One unnamed executive said oil prices at that level would cause U.S. oil production to “start to decline immediately and likely significantly.” 

“There cannot be ‘U.S. energy dominance’ and $50 per barrel oil,” the executive said. 

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on April 6, 2025 at 11:59

Thanks, Joe.  The question is how long the tariffs will remain in place.  The longer they are, the more economic destruction will occur.  The O&G industry, like everyone who supported Trump, is about to get a lesson in unintended consequences.

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Permalink Reply by Joe B. Lovelace on April 7, 2025 at 4:31

WTI Crude Nears Critical Price Threshold

Oil prices took another hit today, down 2.82% at the time of writing, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude briefly dipping below the $60-per-barrel mark before stabilizing just above it. The latest drop follows a turbulent week in the energy markets, sparked by President Trump’s recent tariff announcements. These trade policies, aimed primarily at curbing imports, have rattled investors and traders alike, stoking fears that the global economy could be teetering on the edge of a recession.

Trump’s tariffs, unveiled last week, signal a return to protectionist measures that could disrupt international trade flows. For oil markets, this raises red flags. Reduced trade activity often translates to weaker demand for energy, particularly in manufacturing-heavy economies like China, a key consumer of crude. If tariffs escalate into a broader trade war, analysts warn that industrial slowdowns could further depress oil consumption, pushing prices even lower. WTI’s flirtation with sub-$60 levels—a psychological threshold for many in the industry—underscores the growing unease.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on April 7, 2025 at 4:54

As we hear more complaints and warnings from business interests that backed Trump about how they are being negatively impacted, it begs the question - did they think he was just bluffing and wouldn't go to this extreme of a global trade war?  Or that he would make sure they were protected and would benefit if he did?  The "smart money" looks really dumb currently.  Giving a demonstrably proven unfit egomaniac four years in the White House throws away any influence they may have thought they had.  Now it is FAFO time for the O&G industry.

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Permalink Reply by Joe B. Lovelace on April 9, 2025 at 5:21

West Texas, oil companies brace for downturn following Trump’s tariffs

“It affects my neighbors that are gonna have to cut jobs, cut the truck drivers and the welders, and these are our people,” Hendrick said. “It’s impossible to support a policy, no matter how well-intentioned, that negatively affects people.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/09/west-texas-permian-basin-oi...

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