(Bloomberg) – Moves from Congress are likely to be more important to building out U.S. oil and gas projects than policy from the White House, according to the top executive at pipeline operator Williams Cos.
“I actually think paying more attention to how Congress turns out, and the legislative front, is actually a bigger push because that’s actually where we might see some reform in the law in a way that allows us to build out the pipeline infrastructure that we need,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Armstrong said on a call with analysts.
His comments came Tuesday as Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate in her presidential campaign bid against Donald Trump. Harris has a track record of opposition to offshore drilling and fracing, suggesting she’d be a fierce oil-industry antagonist if she were to win the White House in November.
“I have to remind people this that even during the prior Trump administration, we had major projects get stopped” because states can block them and the federal government can do little to intervene, Armstrong said.
