- President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered key figures in his administration to put together a plan to get funding to the struggling U.S. oil and gas industries as a historic selloff in crude continued.
- Trump's promise that he will "will never let the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down" came as West Texas Intermediate crude futures continued traded with a negative price, a day after falling below zero for the first time ever.
- The oil and gas industry has seen a historic sell-off amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Offshore oil platforms are seen on April 20, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California. Oil prices traded in negative territory for the first time as the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts demand.Michael Heiman | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered key figures in his administration to put together a plan to get funding to the struggling U.S. oil and gas industries as a historic selloff in crude continued.
"I have instructed the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future!" Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, as West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery again traded in negative territory.
The president's tweet did not specify how much money would be made available, or which oil and gas companies would be eligible to receive it.
Trump's promise that he will "will never let the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down" came as West Texas Intermediate crude futures continued traded with a negative price, a day after falling below zero for the first time ever.
The oil and gas industry has seen a historic sell-off amid the coronavirus pandemic. Government efforts to contain the spread of the virus – by closing nonessential businesses, ordering residents to stay in their homes and banning some travel – has upended daily life for millions and effectively ground economic growth to a halt.
"The problem is nobody is driving the car anywhere in the world," Trump said at a White House press briefing on the virus Monday evening. "Factories are closed and businesses are closed. And so, all of a sudden — we had really a lot of energy to start off with, oil in particular. We had a lot. And then, all of a sudden, they lost 40, 50 percent of their markets. So it just stopped."
"So it's going to be picking up, and the energy business will be strong," Trump said. "But they cut back."
When asked at that briefing if he was pushing to include funding to buy 75 million barrels of oil as part of an additional small-business relief bill being negotiated in Congress, Trump appeared to pour cold water on the idea.
"No," Trump said, "we'd like to have Congress approve it so that we could — instead of just storing it for the big — usually the big companies. Because I think we have 75 million gallons right now, capacity."
"So we're going to get — either ask for permission to buy it, or we'll store it. One way or the other, it will be full," the president said.
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Source: cnbc.com