Fracking Fights and Oil Rights: Harris vs. Trump on Energy Tonight

It’s not the primaries anymore. Tonight, the two U.S. Presidential hopefuls will face off in an ABC-hosted debate, and neither are expected to flaunt any radical policies—not even on the subject of energy.

To frac or not to frac

Tonight’s debate will hardly reach a conclusion without one of the most debated subjects in the energy world: fracking. It is a subject likely to be raised, with the Vice President’s change in policies already coming into question.

“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” Kamala Harris said in 2019 Presidential Town Hall on CNN. “Yes. And starting with what we can do on Day 1 around public lands, and then there has to be legislation. But yeah, and this is something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue.”

Harris went further, and in her defense against then would-be-president Biden, she argued on the campaign trail that “Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact.”

Harris’s interview just weeks ago with CNN showed how much closer she’s come to center since her failed bid for the highest office in the land. “What I have seen is that we can grow, and we can increase a clean energy economy without banning fracking,” Harris told CNN interviewer Dana Bash.

The answer to the fracing question is really about which voters Harris is courting tonight. Some analysts may suggest that the Vice President doesn’t need to back away from her strong “ban fracking” policy to win Pennsylvania. Others insist there is no way sticking to her guns on a fracking ban will woo enough Pennsylvania voters to secure the state for her campaign in November.

But both candidates have largely secured the voter base of their own parties. The war for independents is now on.

Permitting

The oil and gas industry will be likely watching tonight’s debate to see where the candidates stand—at least at this point in their campaign—on the red tape permitting processes that continue to stymie major projects like pipelines.

LNG Pauses, EVs, and Lawsuits

Other energy topics will be American energy security and how it relates to the pause on LNG export projects, EV subsidies and emissions regulations that will impact consumer choices when it comes to vehicle purchases, and lawsuits against oil companies.

America First

Former President Donald Trump seems to hold energy policies similar to ones he held in his prior campaigns. He would likely end the pause on LNG export permits, and broaden the scope of drilling auctions as part of the five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, pushing for the United States to achieve the lowest cost of energy and electricity in the world.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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