Trump pledges to ‘drill, baby, drill’

US President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed a campaign pledge to focus on increasing oil and gas output once he returns to the White House in January.

Trump has made clear his strong support for the oil and gas industry by pledging to ease availability of drilling leases for energy companies, as well as building more energy infrastructure. Other policies are expected to include potentially allowing energy firms to sell more natural gas abroad, as well as increasing drilling on federal land.

In an interview with NBC News, the president-elect said that he would stick to his promise of pumping more oil. Asked if he would direct the US authorities to punish those he believes crossed the line in investigating his actions over recent years, Trump said, “No, not at all. I think that they’ll have to look at that, but I’m not going to – I’m going to focus on drill, baby, drill.” 

The phrase was a Republican campaign slogan first uttered in 2008, and then used repeatedly by Trump during his campaign earlier this year. Trump has criticized the administration of current President Joe Biden over energy prices, telling supporters at a rally in Las Vegas in June: “We’re going to drill, baby, drill. We’re going to bring down your energy costs.”

Last month, Trump announced plans to select North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his secretary of the interior. Burgum previously helped open millions of acres of public land for fracking. The role is expected to focus on streamlining policies related to oil, gas, and coal production in order to boost supply rather than limit demand.

Ranked as the world’s number one oil producer, the US is expected to continue increasing its oil output to 13.5 million barrels per day next year, compared to 12.9 million and 13.2 million recorded in 2023 and 2024, respectively, according to the Energy Information Administration.