Trump's executive order shows US oil projects are back in business

New measures will rapidly speed up creation of oil and gas arteries in the US

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to relax regulations around pipeline construction in the United States.

The “Presidential Executive Order on Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure” allows for streamlining in the ways new building projects are authorised.  

Trump remarked that: "the painfully slow, costly and time-consuming process for getting permits and approvals to build" was one of the reasons behind the country’s failing infrastructure.  

The order will set a 24-month review period and a single federal decision process for environmental reviews and permitting to be granted for major infrastructure developments.

       Image: Wikimedia Commons

A win for energy?

The executive order is being hailed as a victory for a domestic hydrocarbons sector experiencing a resurgence under the Trump presidency.

Commenting on the signing of the order, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, Jack Gerard, said: "We applaud [the president's] efforts and the efforts on the part of the administration to create jobs and help continue the renaissance.”

According to Gerard: “Over a trillion dollars that is expected to be invested just in building energy infrastructure that's separate and apart from building highways, bridges, etc."

More than ten million people are currently employed in the oil and gas sector in the United States, making up approximately five per cent of the working age population of the country.