Leaders of oil and natural gas production and oilfield services firms are anticipating more lax regulations under an incoming Trump Administration that is more “pro-business and pro-fossil-fuel production,” according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

From Dec. 11-19, the central bank branch surveyed 134 energy firms – 87 exploration and production companies that find and produce oil and natural gas and 47 oilfield services firms that support those activities. Executives said they expect the new administration “to encourage more development of oil and gas projects,” though they noted that crude oil prices are trending down and that low natural gas prices are “crushing current cash flow.”

Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” policies “will not be positive for the oilfield services” space if the price of West Texas Intermediate – a key crude oil price benchmark – drops below $65 per barrel for a substantial period, the survey states. That price was at $72 per barrel as of Dec. 31.

An unnamed exploration and production company executive wrote that regulations on oil and gas “continue to be the biggest hindrance to our business,” despite production and exports of U.S. oil and natural gas reaching record highs under the Biden Administration.

Another wrote that “the new administration will lift regulations, stop subsidizing green energy and seek [liquified natural gas export] build-outs to place more demand on natural gas.” A recent Department of Energy study found that a sharp increase in liquified natural gas exports could raise energy bills for average households by more than $120 per year.