President Trump will meet with oil industry leaders at the White House on Friday to discuss efforts to help the industry as companies feel the impact of a massive drop in prices.
Executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum and Continental Resources plan to meet with Trump.
The planned meeting was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and Trump confirmed at a White House press briefing Wednesday evening he’d be discussing the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia with the executives.
“I’m going to meet with the oil companies on Friday,” he said. “I’m going to meet with independent oil producers also on Friday, or Saturday, maybe Sunday. We’re having a lot of meetings on it.”
The price of oil has spiraled to around $20 a barrel, the lowest figure in two decades.
In addition to a drop in demand created by the coronavirus outbreak, Russia and Saudi Arabia’s oil price war has flooded the market with excess supply, pushing prices even lower.
It is believed that Trump will discuss a variety of possible solutions with the company heads, including a tariff on Saudi Arabian oil and a waiver that would allow non-American ships to transport goods, such as oil, between two U.S. ports, according to the Journal.
The waiver would allow oil from the Gulf Coast to be shipped to both the East and West coasts, which have been deluged with oil from Saudi Arabia.
The Journal reports that such waivers typically run for about 10 days and have been used by the federal government before during emergency situations.
– Morgan Chalfant contributed.