Oil and gas companies started to heed the Trump administration’s calls to ramp up production in the second quarter but were challenged by the uncertainty caused by the White House’s frenetic approach to the war in Iran, according to a survey by the Dallas Federal Reserve released Wednesday.
The survey — which was taken before the U.S. and Iran signed a peace framework last week — indicates a mixed picture for the oil industry, which has been buoyed by higher prices caused by the war but buffeted by massive swings in prices, driven in part by sudden announcements from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump, who has urged U.S. producers throughout the conflict to ramp up their production, took to social media Wednesday morning to accuse them of price gouging for not bringing gasoline prices down fast enough.
The Dallas Fed survey found business activity for oil and gas firms in its district of Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Louisiana — the heart of the U.S. energy industry — picked up markedly in the second quarter. Its measure of overall business activity jumped from 21.0 in the first quarter to 46.1 in the second quarter, the highest level since mid-2022.
