Why the oil and gas industry is so afraid of Kamala Harris

WHEN Donald Trump invited about 20 prominent oil and gas executives to dine with him at Mar-a-Lago in April, he made a breathtakingly corrupt proposal: If they raised a billion dollars to help him retake the White House, he would roll back any policy they didn’t like when he took office. Several fossil fuel companies and their executives have since answered his call with brio, becoming among the top donors to the Trump campaign and Trump-aligned super PACs (political action committees).

As clean energy begins to challenge the dominance of oil and gas, what some industry barons and their allies fear most is being perceived – by investors, policymakers and the public – as entering a state of terminal decline. If Kamala Harris wins the presidency, she could hasten the arrival of that moment by pursuing policies and regulations that would lead to lower consumption of oil and gas. If Trump is the victor, the industry is betting he will slam the brakes on the clean energy transition, prolong demand for oil and gas and help maintain the primacy of fossil fuels for decades to come.

So much anxiety might seem puzzling, given that the Biden years have been very good for US oil and gas producers. Domestic oil production is at record highs. The United States is the world’s top producer and leading exporter of natural gas, and profits of companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron have surged, too. Even Biden’s signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, offers the industry generous subsidies, thanks to its tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration and for hydrogen production. The biggest oil and gas producers want Trump to keep the bill intact if he wins.