President Donald Trump ordered high level members of his administration to make plans for securing oil and gas jobs in the U.S. Tuesday after the price of oil dropped below zero.
The negative price of oil indicates companies are willing to pay tog et rid of excess oil as they lack space for storage. Trump said Monday he would use the opportunity to fill U.S. oil reserves with an additional 75 million barrels. Oil workers across the country may be facing unemployment at the lack of demand, however, and Trump is seeking to prevent that.
We will never let the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down. I have instructed the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2020
“We will never let the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down. I have instructed the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury to formulate a plan which will make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs will be secured long into the future,” Trump said on Twitter. (RELATED: Here’s How Restarting The Economy Can Save Big Oil’s ‘Destruction,’ Save Energy Jobs)
Trump had earlier directed Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin–among others–to investigate how the U.S. should go about reopening the economy. The administration rolled out a three-stage reopening process last week for each state to begin on a case-by-case basis.
Several states have already begun the process, but outbreak hotbeds like New York, New Jersey, and Louisiana are likely to remain closed much longer.