It’s been a brutal three months for the American oil and gas industry. Oil prices have dropped to their lowest level since 2021, below what most shale companies need for new drilling to be profitable. China recently halted imports of American liquefied natural gas in the latest act of trade retaliation. And as the Trump administration’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada hit materials and equipment, the cost of producing oil and gas in America is rising.
The future looks grim, too: OPEC, the International Energy Agency and Goldman Sachs have all forecast softer oil demand in anticipation of a global economic downturn set off by President Trump’s trade war. The chaos has even eclipsed any gains from Mr. Trump’s industry-friendly regulatory rollbacks and efforts to fast-track approvals for new energy projects. As one industry veteran put it in a recent Dallas Federal Reserve survey of oil and gas executives, “I have never felt more uncertainty about our business in my entire 40-plus-year career.” And this turmoil is no accident; it’s a direct result of Mr. Trump’s economic vandalism.
A weakened American oil and gas industry hands more power to OPEC, leaving U.S. households vulnerable the next time it cuts production and drives up prices. That means American consumers could eventually feel pain at the pump.
As Democrats sharpen their offensive on Mr. Trump, they would be wise to underscore this uncertainty to voters, who want secure prices and energy. Stable energy prices depend on stable policy — and this moment calls for a Democratic agenda that prioritizes both.
Democrats have missed opportunities to stabilize the oil market in the past. When oil prices crashed during the Covid pandemic, threatening shale companies with bankruptcy, party leaders blocked a plan championed by Texas and Oklahoma Democrats to buy oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling it a “bailout for big oil.”
