Days after announcing a new Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump transition team said Friday it will establish a new National Energy Council.
The president-elect’s pick for interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, will lead the group, which will include all federal departments and agencies “involved in the permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation or all forms of American Energy,” the transition team said in a statement.
While campaigning, Trump often said he would unleash the full force of America’s energy resources and “drill, baby, drill.” Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the United States is already producing more crude oil than any country ever. U.S. crude oil production is currently at 13.5 million barrels per day — up from a record of 12.93 million barrels per day last year.
“This council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation," according to the statement.
It did not specifically state which federal agencies and departments would be part of the council, but multiple agencies are involved in the U.S. oil and gas industry. The Bureau of Land Management approves federal permits for oil and gas drilling, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates oil and companies that operate in the United States.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management oversees leases for offshore lands, the Environmental Protection Agency regulates emissions, and the Department of Energy administers the country’s energy policy overall.