U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry says there is 'sheer optimism'
in the American energy industry, despite concerns about impending tariffs on
steel and aluminum.
The optimism is in part due to the Trump administration's
effort to scale back regulations.
Energy companies have warned that the tariffs will negatively
impact their business.
Concerns about trade wars, the future of NAFTA and impending
steel and aluminum tariffs loomed over a major energy conference this week, but
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick
Perry said the overall tone in the energy industry is one of
"sheer optimism."
The Trump administration aims to encourage innovation in the
energy sector by scaling
back regulations, according to Perry. The prospect of a future bound in
less red tape and the technology-driven surge
in U.S. oil and gas production is what's underpinning that optimism,
in his view.
"It's less concern than it is pure optimism.
Everybody's got concerns about their particular sector, whether it's the
utility guys or the infrastructure guys," Perry told CNBC on the sidelines
of the CERAWeek by IHS Markit
energy conference.
"There are concerns out there. Don't get me wrong, but
the overall message here is one of just sheer optimism."
Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the old reality of the
energy sector is about regulation, while the new reality points to innovation.
To be sure, many energy executives at the conference said
the growth in U.S. energy production is poised to continue as the industry
adopts technology like data analytics and machine learning. And there was
widespread support for a White House seen as slowing the Obama administration's
expansion of energy-sector regulations.
"The old reality was we're going to regulate, and the
new reality is we're going to innovate," Perry said. "And the
innovation that's coming out of the private sector, the innovation that comes
out of U.S. Department of Energy national labs, working together, is a
fascinating story about what American ingenuity can do."
But the prospect of President Donald Trump's anticipated
tariffs on steel and aluminum have raised the hackles of many corners of the
energy industry.
On Monday, ExxonMobil CEO Darren
Woods told CNBC the tariffs
could undo some of the positive impacts from GOP tax cuts and Trump's
deregulatory agenda. Siemens CEO
Joseph Kaeser also voiced
concerns when interviewed by CNBC at CERAWeek, though said the
specific impact on Siemens business would be minor.
Pipeline players are particularly
worried, given the reliance on foreign steel for many projects at a time
when U.S. supply is booming. They warn that tariffs will raise costs and lead
to a rush on U.S. metal supplies, potentially causing some projects to be
delayed or canceled. Some analysts say tariffs will not have an outsized impact
on the industry, because the price of raw steel is a relatively small part of overall
costs.
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