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Trump’s ‘drill-baby-drill’ policy will bring uncertainty to oil market, but no immediate surge expected— Exxon’s partner
Kaieteur News- President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Zhou Xinhuai has stated that the new United States-administration policy in relation to ramping up oil and gas production there will bring uncertainty to the global crude oil market but underscored that the policy does not mean there will be an immediate surge in production. CNOOC’s Xinhuai made that statement during CNOOC’s 2025 strategy preview.
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CNOOC, Zhou Xinhua
CNOOC is a 25% shareholder in Guyana’s Stabroek Block which is operated by U.S oil giant, ExxonMobil. Since production commenced in December 2019, Exxon and its partners CNOOC and Hess have produced over 500 million barrels of oil out of the estimated 11.6 billion barrels of oil. Addressing the potential impact of Donald Trump’s energy policies, he stated: “regarding your second question about Trump, 2.0 well, for sure, there will be bigger uncertainty that is going to be caused to the oil and gas market as well as energy market as a result of Trump’s return to the US administration.”
Trump in his “drill, baby, drill” approach to energy production, has indicated a commitment to expanding U.S. fossil fuel development. However, CNOOC’s CEO pointed out that ramping up production is not an instantaneous process. “And we believe that we have to adopt a critical thinking methodology in analysing such impacts when it comes to offshore oil and gas development and exploration well, even though you are going to start building or erecting wells right now, it doesn’t mean that you can immediately increase production volume next year. That is definitely impossible,” he explained.
He acknowledged the steady rise in U.S. shale oil and gas production, giving credit to the sector’s efficiency in exploration and development. However, he outlined that these operations are largely driven by traditional energy companies that prioritise return on investment and assets. “So we believe that this year for shale oil, the production volume may increase, but we don’t foresee a big growth of that,” he said.
As for CNOOC, Zhou highlighted the company’s strategic approach. “All along, we have been comparing ourselves with other companies, not based on absolute value, but we are comparing in terms of our own efforts and our hard work, and also our own cost structure and cost advantage and our market competitiveness. So that’s how we generate value for our shareholders,” he stated.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo during a question-and-answer segment at the 2025 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo made it clear that Guyana is not worried about Trump’s ‘drill-baby-drill’ policy. It was reported that in 2025, although Guyana’s daily production is expected to climb, the country will see a decrease in earnings from the sector, as oil price is likely to come down by 10.9%. This was disclosed by Guyana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh. He had explained that this decline in oil prices is primarily due to slowing global demand, particularly in China. Oil prices will decline this year as global supply is expected to outgrow global demand. Senior Vice President of Global Energy and International Affairs at S&P asked the Vice President on Tuesday, “…You have now President of the United States that says, drill baby, drill. More oil, it’s going to come onto the market. Chinese demand is tailing off, and market is going to be absorbed by somebody else worried about it.” In his response, Vice President Jagdeo stated, “I’m not, I’m not.” Jagdeo supported his unbothered comment by stating that American oil giant, ExxonMobil Corporation, who is operating in Guyana through its subsidiary ExxonMobil Guyana Limited has recently submitted its plans to have a seventh and eight project approved by the Guyanese government.
(Trump’s ‘drill-baby-drill’ policy will bring uncertainty to oil market, but no immediate surge expected— Exxon’s partner)
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