Oil Execs Warn That Trump’s ‘Chaos’ Could Be ‘Disaster’ for Industry

"After donating heavily to Trump’s reelection, Big Oil is just catching on that the president’s policies can hurt them too, anonymous survey of industry executives reveals."

"“Chaos.” “A disaster.” “Uncertainty.” “Very negative.”

That’s a sample of the reactions to Trump’s first few months published in the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey, which gives executives from nearly 200 oil companies headquartered in Texas the chance to speak anonymously about burning issues inside the oil industry.

The closely-watched oil patch survey released last week exposed an emerging gap between Trump’s MAGA movement and the financial interests of some of its biggest corporate funders.

Big oil poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump’s re-election campaign and down-ballot GOP candidates last year, including an $80 million advertising spree — not counting undisclosed “dark money” funding. Fossil fuel fortunes have funded Project 2025 and its backers, alongside even more extreme far-right Trump-era policy blueprints.

But Trump’s tariffs, rising steel prices, and his sledgehammer approach to the administrative state are starting to unnerve oil and gas executives — at least in the anonymous survey conducted quarterly by the Dallas Fed."

Sharon Kelly reports for DeSmog April 4, 2025.

Source: DeSmog, 04/07/2025