Energy Secretary Chris Wright is ordering a new study to bolster oil and gas development, a move that could guide future administration actions on pipelines, permitting and regulations.
In a letter posted to the DOE site Monday, Wright directed the National Petroleum Council, a federal advisory committee, to deliver the “Future Energy Systems” study for presentation at the council’s meeting in December. DOE-sanctioned studies can be significant for signaling where the administration is headed on policy and what it will be pushing for with Congress and industry.
The analysis should “recognize and leverage the vast potential of domestic oil and natural gas resources and industry expertise to advance administration goals,” Wright wrote to Alan Armstrong, chair of the petroleum council.
The recommendations are intended to inform the National Energy Dominance Council, a panel in the White House created by President Donald Trump and led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to coordinate and set energy policy.
Wright said the study should initially focus on permitting and “gas-electric coordination” to help ensure that infrastructure can meet growing electricity demand.
The NPC should assess how rising power and gas demand are “straining natural gas pipelines in key regions of the United States; examine what impact these strains can have on energy reliability; and recommend actionable strategies to address the misalignment between these two industries,” Wright said.
With permitting, he called for updating recommendations in a 2019 council study known as “Dynamic Delivery” issued during the first Trump administration on oil and gas infrastructure.
“Recommendations based on current legislation and regulations can provide meaningful input to support the effective redesign of government systems and siting of new energy infrastructure,” Wright wrote.
He directed the council to work with Deputy Assistant Secretary Ryan Peay in DOE’s fossil office to outline the study’s scope within 30 days. The letter was dated June 30.
The administration has been pushing for oil and gas development through various means, including by aiming to ease environmental requirements for industry. In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said “we have an expression: ‘drill, baby drill.’ And that’s what we’re doing,” adding that gasoline prices are down from last year.
U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows that gasoline prices have fallen from last year, but electricity prices are up roughly 6 percent and natural gas prices have increased more than nine percent in comparison to the same period in 2024.
Trump’s comments prompted environmentalists to warn that rollbacks of clean energy incentives would drive energy prices higher.
“Trump and his fossil fuel megadonors are ensuring the U.S. stays stuck in a destructive, expensive energy system that belongs to the past,” said Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. Campaign Manager at Oil Change International.
The study announcement also follows comments last week from Brittany Kelm, a senior policy adviser on the National Energy Dominance Council, who fleshed out details of that panel’s focus at National Clean Energy Week in Washington.
The council is “really focused” on developing baseload power that runs around the clock, as well as supporting building data centers and examining permitting changes, Kelm said.
“It’s down to prioritizing baseload power, a directive of President Trump. … We wake up every day with no question of what our priority objectives are,” she said.
Along with pipelines and fossil fuels, the group is pushing for “anything on the nuclear side,” she said.
The council is working closely with the White House legislative team and pushed to retain the nuclear tax credit in the One Big Beautiful Act signed in July, Kelm added.
