By Jarrett Renshaw
(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will host top oil executives at the White House on Wednesday as he charts plans to boost domestic energy production in the midst of falling crude prices and looming trade wars.
The meeting, scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT), will mark Trump's first sit-down with oil and gas leaders since returning to the White House for a second term as president in January.
It will be part "victory lap" for Trump's early support of the industry, according to one source familiar with the planning of the closed-door event, but executives are also expected to express concerns over Trump imposing tariffs and emphasize the need for higher oil prices to help meet the president's promise to grow domestic production.
It will include members of the American Petroleum Institute's executive committee, the source said.
Hess Corp CEO John Hess, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance, Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier and Marathon Petroleum CEO Maryann Mannen are among the leaders on the trade group's executive committee, according to public biographies.
Harold Hamm, founder and CEO of Continental Resources and one of Trump's biggest political donors, is also expected to be at the meeting, the source said.
Trump and his allies came into office vowing to boost already record U.S. oil production by as much as 3 million barrels per day and cut energy prices for inflation-stricken Americans, in part by rolling back environmental regulations and speeding permitting.
"The best way to maintain oil production and energy independence is to support a higher oil price," said Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston. "Drill-baby-drill is not the way forward. And so I think they're going to try and make that point to him tactfully."
Analysts at energy analytics firm Wood Mackenzie projected benchmark Brent oil prices would average $73 per barrel in 2025, down $7 per barrel from 2024 due to U.S. tariff policies and OPEC+ plans to boost output.
Asked to comment on the meeting, API spokesperson Bethany Williams reiterated previous comments that the trade group appreciated the opportunity to discuss how the industry is driving economic growth and strengthening national security.
The White House did not respond to request for comment.
Trump is pursuing a trade war with allies Mexico and Canada that the API has publicly opposed, in part because the two U.S. neighbors are its top sources of imported crude oil.
Trump already imposed tariffs on imported crude from Canada and Mexico but issued exemptions for producers who can prove they comply with the trade agreement between the three countries, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Last month, in response to the tariffs, API CEO Mike Sommers said, "Energy markets are highly integrated, and free and fair trade across our borders is critical for delivering affordable, reliable energy to U.S. consumers."
API has publicly released a five-point energy plan for Trump and Congress to follow that includes permit reform, boosting offshore oil leasing, protecting tax credits for carbon capture and hydrogen production and rolling back subsidies for electric vehicles.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; additional reporting by Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Nia Williams)
