News Brief

March 27, 2025

Oil and gas executives blast Trump ‘chaos’ and ‘uncertainty’ in anonymous survey

Oil and gas company executives are complaining about the Trump Administration’s tariff policies and push for low oil prices, according to an anonymous survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

According to results released Wednesday, multiple executives cited “uncertainty” caused by the administration’s trade war with Canada and Mexico, along with tariffs on foreign steel. They also bemoaned the administration’s focus on cheap oil; Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro has said that $50-per-barrel oil would help reduce inflation, according to the Financial Times.

But “there cannot be ‘U.S. energy dominance’ and $50 per barrel oil; those two statements are contradictory,” wrote on survey respondent. “At $50-per-barrel oil, we will see U.S. oil production start to decline immediately and likely significantly.”

“The administration's chaos is a disaster for the commodity markets,” another wrote. “’Drill, baby, drill’ is nothing short of a myth and populist rallying cry. Tariff policy is impossible for us to predict and doesn't have a clear goal. We want more stability.”


The survey results sharply contrast with a previous Dallas Fed survey released in January. In December, oil and gas firms generally said they were “more optimistic” about an incoming Trump Administration, citing reduced regulations and pro-energy policies.

The central bank branch received responses from 130 energy firms from March 12-10, including exploration and production companies that find and produce oil and natural gas and 47 oilfield services firms that support those activities. The survey covers companies operating in Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Louisiana.

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