Can executive orders restart stalled pipeline and transmission construction?
Core argument: Bessent's 3-3-3 target amounts to a 7% increase in US oil, gas and NGL production, most of which will continue to rely on hydraulic fracturing, a goal the authors call very achievable, though its effect on US energy prices is less clear.
You can try to streamline permits for pipelines and transmission projects with executive orders, but without explicit Federal eminent domain legislation, projects can still be challenged for a number of reasons. Oil pipeline, gas pipeline and transmission line projects in the US have practically ground to a halt. It would be quite a feat from a political perspective to jumpstart the pace. The Trump agenda also calls for an “end to leasing to wind farms”, but only 2% of US wind power takes place on public lands as opposed to private lands, so that’s a marginal issue at best. Trump might have more luck achieving Bessent’s target for higher domestic energy production. Based on our energy math, Bessent’s 3-3-3 target amounts to a 7% increase in oil, gas and NGL production (most of which will continue to rely on hydraulic fracturing) and is a very achievable goal. Whether this brings down US energy prices is less clear.

