The US government is considering acquiring stakes in US energy companies to help and support the oil and gas sector in coping with the repercussions of the Corona Virus outbreak.
According to Reuters, Trump, speaking with US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, said he wanted to help the oil and gas sector, and suggested that the federal government buy fuel for the country in advance, as well as buy airline tickets in advance.
"We are looking at a whole bunch of alternatives," Mnuchin said
Referring to potential shares, Manuchin said you can assume that this is one of the alternatives, but there are a lot of them.
The oil sector is hard hit by the massive drop in demand, as the Corona virus is effectively shutting down economies around the world.
Trump said energy activity is very important to me, and we will build it. This really hurt energy activity like any other activity because it has all been hit - the supply continues to come.
Trump helped negotiate cuts from OPEC and other countries, including Russia, but the move did not eliminate excess supply.
He encouraged President Manuchin to consider purchasing oil for later use.
The United States is the largest oil user, Trump said. We can buy oil at a great price in the future. This gives them the cash they need, and we have oil at a great price in the future.
Trump also said that Russia and Saudi Arabia could implement more production cuts amid the glut in the oil market in light of the pandemic, adding that Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota were cutting production, as well as Canada.
Trump said about such cuts would be normal at this point.
The president is reluctant to implement a coordinated reduction in oil production from the US energy sector, saying that cuts are already under way due to the forced market.
