Trump heads to Houston Wednesday to boost oil and gas sector

U.S. President Donald Trump questioned the reliability of wind power at a rally in Michigan last month. >>See photos from the last time Trump visited Houston. U.S. President Donald Trump questioned the reliability of wind power at a rally in Michigan last month. >>See photos from the last time Trump visited Houston. Photo: Anthony Lanzilote / Bloomberg Photo: Anthony Lanzilote / Bloomberg Image 1 of / 92 Caption Close Trump heads to Houston Wednesday to boost oil and gas sector 1 / 92 Back to Gallery

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump will travel to Houston Wednesday to announce executive orders aimed at speeding up pipeline and other energy projects and expanding oil and natural gas production, a senior White House official said.

The president is scheduled to appear at the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center in Crosby, a union-run training facility spread over 265 acres. There he is expected to speak about how he plans to aid the United States' booming domestic oil and gas production and further shift away from foreign imports.

For now the White House won't release the exact details of the executive orders. But the senior official said they would streamline permitting and help energy companies to "avoid unnecessary red tape."

"American families and businesses in states with energy restrictions will be able to access affordable and reliable domestic energy resources," the official said.

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Record oil and gas production, led by Texas, has played a large role in both domestic and foreign policy for the Trump administration. With U.S. crude oil production -- now at more than 12 million barrels a day -- surpassing both Saudi Arabia and Russia, it has provided the administration more leeway in targeting sanctions at oil producers such as Iran and Venezuela without fearing a spike in oil prices.

Vice President Mike Pence, speaking in Houston Friday, announced new sanctions against Venezuela, targeting ships carrying Venezuelan crude to Cuba, which is backing the socialist government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration is trying to oust Maduro, who has presided over an economic collapse that has left the country without adequate food, medicine and other necessities.

Domestically, shale drilling boom has provided a boost to the economy in generally lowering energy costs for consumer and businesses and moving the country ever closer to a once unimaginable goal of becoming a net energy exporter.

But even as natural gas prices have declined around much of the country, a shortage of pipeline capacity into New England has resulted in elevated prices there.

Part of the problem is New York state officials have held up pipeline projects passing through their state, arguing the pipelines could potentially pollute rivers and streams on their way from the gas-rich Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania into New England. But many in the energy sector have criticized the move as opening another front in the ongoing debate around climate change and America's reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels like oil and natural gas.

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Pipeline executives have urged Trump to assert federal authority over interstate pipelines and prevent states from blocking multi-billion dollar projects that are facing increasing uncertainty from investors.

In February, Dan Dinges, CEO of the Houston energy company Cabot Oil and Gas, criticized the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for not doing more to get pipeline construction moving. Cabot is a partner in one delayed pipeline through New York

"The gamesmanship of the state of New York has never been more legally suspect," he wrote in a letter to FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee. "We urge you and your fellow Commissioners not to lose sight of the more substantial contributions to energy security and reliability in the region that can be achieved by decisive action on needed pipelines."

The president is set to arrive in Crosby about a week after a fire at a chemical plant killed one person and injured two others. KMCO, the company that owns the plant, has a history of environmental and safety violations.

Trump's visit comes a little more than 18 months ahead of the 2020 presidential election and follows a tumultuous period in Washington.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into collusion between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government wrapped up last month, with U.S. Attorney General William Barr reporting no evidence of wrongdoing by Trump.

Last week, the president backed off this threat to shut down the U.S. Mexico border if Mexico did not halt illegal immigration into the United States, saying instead he would place tariffs on vehicle imports from Mexico in one year's time if Mexico failed to act.