More Keystone Kops flip flops from the gang that can’t drill straight.
Energy Sec and Climate bullshitter Chris Wright, along with Interior Sec Doug Burgum called on the luxuriously plush carpet by Billionaire donor and Fracking Tycoon Harold Hamm, to explain themselves, and how the allegedly “pro business” administration is kneecapping the industry.
This follows closely after a Federal Reserve of Dallas survey of Oil Executives revealed some brutal takes on the current Administration by their own Robber Baron donors.
In the space of ten days, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has gone from full-throttle shale hype-man to waving the red flag on oil prices. Today’s bombshell? “$50 oil is not sustainable for producers,” Wright said, according to Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski.
But now, with WTI hovering around $62.86 and the sector still licking wounds from a brutal $10-per-barrel drop this month, the messaging has shifted. Hard.
The contradiction is emblematic of where U.S. shale finds itself in 2025: stuck between political slogans and fiscal reality. On one hand, Trump wants “drill, baby, drill” to be more than just campaign nostalgia. Trump also wants consumers to see lower prices at the pump. Meanwhile, Wall Street wants dividends, not drilling binges.
As for US shale players, they just want clear and predictable policies with oil prices that don’t swing $10 per barrel in a 30-day period.
Wright may believe in shale’s long-term survival—and history suggests he’s not wrong—but that doesn’t mean producers can stomach $50 crude today. And it doesn’t mean that $50 oil is compatible with drill baby drill. Especially not after a spree of M&A left fewer, bigger players who are far more interested in pleasing shareholders than chasing marginal barrels.
Add to that a shaky macro backdrop, potential U.S.-China tariff détente, and OPEC+ infighting, and you’ve got an oil market trying to price in about nine different realities at once.
So, can shale grow at $50? Maybe in theory. But in practice?
Energy Secretary Chris Wright sought to reassure US oil companies during a visit to Oklahoma, saying turmoil from President Donald Trump’s trade war is apt to be fleeting and the administration fully supports more crude output.
“The uncertainty you are seeing around tariffs — that’s a short term issue,” Wright said during an interview with Bloomberg Television at an energy conference in Oklahoma City. He later added: “We’re doing everything we can to encourage production.”
Wright, who previously ran one of the world’s biggest fracking-service providers, said the uncertainty roiling the broader market is because the US in the midst of negotiating more favorable trade deals. He predicted it would only last “a few more weeks.”
When it comes to oil production, Wright said the Trump administration is focused on tearing down barriers to make it cheaper and easier to pump crude and natural gas.
Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared at the event hosted by shale billionaire Harold Hamm as oil prices have plunged more than 10% this month in the wake of Trump’s trade war and a decision by OPEC to beef up a production increase scheduled for later this year. For 14 consecutive days, West Texas Intermediate futures have settled below $65 a barrel — the price many companies need to break even on new wells.
China’s imports of liquefied natural gas are set to fall by more than 20% this month compared with a year ago, extending a slump in purchases by the world’s biggest buyer of the fuel.
The country is expected to import 4.9 million tons in April, the sixth month in a row where it will see a decrease compared with the previous year, according to Kpler, an analytics firm that tracks ship data. China’s LNG deliveries are down by more than 20% so far this year, with demand lagging behind Japan for the past few months.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright says Donald Trump’s administration is giving the “green light” to more US oil production, but the signal from the fracking company he used to run is flashing bright red.
Liberty Energy Inc. (LBRT), which Wright led until his appointment to Trump’s cabinet, has tumbled 43% this year, one of the most precipitous declines among US energy stocks. The value of Wright’s stake in Liberty has fallen by nearly half to about $30 million over that period.
Liberty’s rout is a warning that all is not well in America’s shale patch, despite Trump’s pledge to achieve “energy dominance.” Oil field servicers often provide the first indication of an industry downturn because they’re the ones hired to drill and frack new wells. After the trade war and OPEC’s recent decision to hike production knee-capped crude prices, investors expect US shale producers to avoid pumping more barrels into an oversupplied market.
A drop in spending on services means US oil production could stall, or even decline this year, for the first time since the pandemic. So far, servicers are getting the brunt of the impact from tariff fears: An index of the companies has slid 28% this year, compared with 7% for oil and gas producers.
“It’s just going to be painful,” said Dan Pickering, chief investment officer at energy-focused financial services firm Pickering Energy Partners. “What comes next, and we’ve already heard whispers of this, it will be slowing down of drilling activity, releasing frack crews.”