A federal advisory committee of energy industry leaders presented two reports to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday, recommending sweeping changes to permitting requirements and more integration between the electric and natural gas industries.
The two reports arrived five months after Wright asked the National Petroleum Council in June to provide analyses of how the U.S. could boost oil and gas production to meet the Trump administration’s “energy dominance” goals.
The emphasis from industry executives on changing permitting laws coincides with a push in Congress to amend decades-old laws that many lawmakers say have slowed the build-out of all kinds of infrastructure.
“It’s reached the point where the money that gets wasted in the permitting process would disgust every American,” said Alan Armstrong, chair of the National Petroleum Council and executive chair of the Williams Companies, to reporters after the meeting.
