Energy Secretary Chris Wright is calling for a study of oil and gas permitting and the interplay between natural gas and electric power.
On Monday, Wright asked the National Petroleum Council to prepare a “Future Energy Systems study” to “explore how America’s vast oil and natural gas resources can be harnessed to strengthen national security, support economic growth, and provide ample energy for American families.”
The study will include a review of permitting processes as well as recommendations for further aligning the natural gas and power generation sectors. Natural gas has become the largest individual source of power to the nation’s electric grid, which is likely to see increasing demand from data centers as part of the race to support artificial intelligence.
The study could be an indicator of the Trump Administration’s preferred energy policy and signal its intentions for the industry, according to E&E News.