President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent want a strong economy. They are particularly eager to remove regulatory barriers to increased production of oil and gas, two energy commodities of which the United States has vast reserves. Because of shale oil reserves, the U.S. holds the world’s largest recoverable oil reserve base — more than Saudi Arabia or Russia. The U.S. has 264 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, more than Russia with 256 billion and Saudi Arabia with 212 billion.

It is understandable that Trump and Bessent want to increase production of oil and oil equivalents by 3 million barrels a day by 2028. Increased output would strengthen the economy and perhaps reduce the trade deficit. And the trade deficit is a fixation for Trump.