(The Center Square) – At a Texas port known for handling record volumes of Texas-produced liquified natural gas, President Donald Trump touted importing Venezuelan oil with a Venezuelan oil tanker in the background.
Trump spoke at the Port of Corpus Christi, a key hub for LNG exports, referring to it as a “national treasure, one of the largest energy export hubs anywhere in the world.”
His administration was “unleashing America's potential, strengthening our security, increasing our prosperity,” Trump said, referring to reversing Biden administration policies. “We have the most successful country anywhere in the world. A year and a half ago, we had a dead country. Our country was dead.”
Instead of citing Texas oil and natural gas industry production or methane reduction records, he said, “America's status as the number one energy superpower by far anywhere on earth” and thanked Venezuela. “I want to thank Venezuela because our relationship is a very good one. We're having a very good relationship. That ship is from Venezuela,” he said, pointing to an oil tanker behind him.
Trump also repeatedly attacked former President Joe Biden, saying he “was one of the worst presidents in history” and “had no idea what the hell was happening. It was his administration of horrible … radical left people. No, he used the auto pen” to implement “crippling regulations on producers and refiners,” cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline, imposed an LNG export ban and imposed the “Green New Scam, one of the greatest scams in history.” These policies caused prices at the pump to top $6 a gallon in some states, Trump said.
High gas prices helped create “the worst inflation in the history of our country,” which he said he turned around after declaring a national energy emergency on his first day in office and reversing Biden-era policies, he said.
“I ended the Biden LNG export ban. I told our great Texas energy workers to very simply ‘drill, baby, drill.’ Since my inauguration, U.S. oil production is now up by 600,000 barrels a day. Natural gas production is at an all-time-record high by far. Right here in Corpus Christi, the price of gasoline is down to $2.30. We're witnessing an historic American energy boom like we've never seen. This port is at the center of the action,” Trump said.
Energy companies have expressed concerns about lower gas prices, which directly correlate to declining rig counts. Contrary to Trump’s claims, rig counts are down by nearly 50 since he’s been in office and energy giants based in Houston laid off thousands of workers last year, The Center Square reported. Layoffs are ongoing.
Instead of discussing creating policies to foster investment in Texas production, Trump called Texas oil executives to Washington, D.C., last month, urging them to invest in Venezuela. The leaders of Exxon Mobile, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, all based in Houston, described the challenges they’ve faced in Venezuela, including losing billions of dollars and having their assets seized in the past by despotic regimes. They explained that long term investment would require extensive legal and structural changes with security and investment guarantees.
They met at the White House as rig counts in the Permian Basin, the price per barrel of oil and extraction jobs continued to drop. The first quarter this year is also presenting challenges for the industry, now complicated by conflict with Iran, industry experts warn.
Trump claimed to create tens of thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars of revenue for the Corpus community. The Texas oil and natural gas and LNG industry was already contributing billions of dollars to the community, exceeding $60 billion in 2023 in Texas coastal counties alone, The Center Square reported.
Trump doubled down on touting Venezuelan oil imports, stating, “we just started [importing] 80 million barrels of fuel. It's great for Venezuela and it's great for us. A lot of [Venezuelan oil] comes right here. With our new friend and partner, Venezuela, we're going to do a lot of other things.” The Venezuelans have never “witnessed anything so beautiful, so decisive and so popular,” referring to his administration removing Venezuela’s former president from office last month, he said. “In fact, 360,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude are right now sitting in the tanker,” he said, pointing to the ship again.
“We're going to refine their oil right here in America and right here in Texas, and then export it to all over the world. We're going to keep some for ourselves. We're going to give some to them and they're going to make more money than they've ever made before. We'll help build their country again, which was a disaster.”
Trump also pointed to Texas Republican lawmakers in the crowd, including U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, who is running for attorney general and whom he has repeatedly criticized. He also pointed to Attorney General Ken Paxton, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt who are embroiled in a bitter primary race for U.S. Senate. He has endorsed no one in these races.
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