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Trump meeting with top oil CEOs in closed-door event

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Industry concerned about falling oil prices, looming trade

wars

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Meeting will mark Trump's first sit-down with oil and gas

leaders since return to White House

(Adds energy secretary comments in paragraphs 10 and 11)

By Jarrett Renshaw

March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is

hosting 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),

marks 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 ( HES ) CEO John Hess, ExxonMobil ( XOM ) CEO

Darren Woods, Chevron ( CVX ) CEO Mike Wirth, ConocoPhillips ( COP )

CEO Ryan Lance, Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier and

Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) 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.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Trump was elected to

unleash American energy, lower energy prices and stop inflation.

"President Trump's message to leading oil executives is loud

and clear: America is open for business," Wright said in a

statement before the meeting.

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.

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.