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US-ENERGY-TRUMP
Trump signs orders for ‘revival’ of US energy
CROSBY, United States, April 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – In the US oil heartland
on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the signing of two executive
orders to accelerate the construction of oil and gas pipelines, dismaying
environmentalists.
The latest measures are in line with others his administration has taken to
ease regulation of the energy sector, a major employer and source of growth
in Texas, where he made the announcement to trade union operating engineers.
“Too often, badly needed energy infrastructure is being held back by
special interest groups, entrenched bureaucracies, and radical activists,”
the president said in Crosby, near Houston. “I will sign two groundbreaking
executive orders to continue the revival of the American energy industry and
jobs,” said Trump, who then officially endorsed the measures.
“My action today will cut through destructive permitting delays and
denials.”
The measures aim to limit delays in obtaining permits to build certain
infrastructure including pipelines, and will give the president “sole
authority to make the final decision when we get caught up in problems,” he
told his supporters.
The action further seeks to curb states’ power in the process, reported The
Washington Post which cited one of the two orders.
The United States produces 12.2 million barrels of crude oil per day on
average, the most in the world, according to figures from the US Energy
Information Administration (EIA) released Wednesday.
Trump’s announcement sparked an outpouring of opposition from
environmentalists and some political opponents.
“I have a better idea. Let’s invest in clean energy infrastructure that
will create jobs and won’t destroy our planet,” tweeted Washington state’s
Governor Jay Inslee, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
Inslee says he will make climate change the central theme of his campaign,
in contrast to Trump who pulled the United States out of the 2015 Paris
accord on capping global warming.
Trump’s executive orders follow his granting last month of a new permit for
construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to bring oil from Canada to the US.
The previous administration of Barack Obama blocked the project in 2015,
citing environmental risks.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0952 hrs