The President: Okay,
thank you very much.
It's a great honor to be
with the world leaders in
American oil and gas and,
really, I could say, the
world leaders, period,
when it comes to energy
and American energy.
The biggest companies
anywhere -- anywhere in
the world.
I want to thank Secretary
of the Interior, David
Bernhardt; Secretary of
Energy, Dan Brouillette;
and Ambassador Robert
Lighthizer for being here.
We're also joined by
Leader Kevin McCarthy,
Senators John Cornyn,
Kevin Cramer, Ted Cruz,
and Dan Sullivan.
Thank you.
These are people that
really want to see good
energy at the good price.
With us as well are Greg
Garland of Phillips 66,
Dave Hager of Devon
Energy, Harold Hamm of
Continental Resources,
Jeff Hildebrand of Hilcorp
Energy, Vicki Hollub of
Occidental Petroleum, Mike
Sommers of the American
Petroleum Institute, Kelcy
Warren of Energy Transfer
Partners, Mike Wirth of
Chevron, and Darren Woods
of an extremely small
company known
as Exxon Mobil.
Well, it's smaller today
than it was four weeks ago
-- (laughter) -- by
about half, right?
That's all right.
It'll be better than ever.
Today we'll discuss the
impact of the coronavirus
on American
energy industry.
As the pandemic brought
on by global economy -- I
mean, it's an incredible
thing that's happened.
Nobody thought
this was possible.
We had the greatest
economy in the world.
Probably, you were doing
-- all of you -- the best ever.
Everybody was doing
the best ever.
And then, all of a sudden,
they said, "You have to
shut down the country,"
and they have to shut down
the world, because the
whole world is shut down,
not the country.
The whole world is shut
down: 151 countries.
Probably, it's
higher than that now.
That was as of a week ago.
So the entire world is
shut down, trying to get
rid of this scourge.
And -- and we'll do it.
I thought what I might do
is go around the room and
you just introduce
yourselves to the media
real quickly, and then we'll have a discussion afterwards.
You know, our
2.2-trillion-dollar relief
package includes
provisions to allow
businesses to deduct their
losses this year against
taxes they paid in
previous years, which gets
you a lot of liquidity.
And a lot of companies
need the liquidity right now.
And hopefully we're going
to be back in business
very soon.
We're going to be
open very soon.
This country wasn't
built to be closed.
And, essentially, we
have a closed country.
Nobody has ever heard
of a thing like this.
But this was -- I was
with some of the leading
professionals, and they
say not since 1917 has
there been
anything like this.
1917 was a time when, I
guess, you could say, 50,
75, or 100 million -- you
hear different estimates
-- people died.
Think of that:
100 million.
Maybe 100 million
people died.
So they had no
communications.
They weren't able to shut
things down like we are doing.
But that was a --
that was a plague.
That was a plague.
It started here, actually.
It went to Europe.
We were badly affected,
but Europe was really affected.
So that was the worst.
So not since 100 years ago
-- more than 100 years ago
has this -- a thing
like this happened.
I just want to start by
saying it's an honor to be
with you.
I know most of you,
one way or the other.
Some of you I know, and --
but I know all of you by
seeing you on the covers
of all the business
magazines and
the magazines.
And you've done a great
job, and we'll work this
out and we'll get our
energy business back.
I'm with you
1,000 percent.
It's a great business.
It's a very
vital business.
And, honestly, you've
been very fair.
You've kept energy prices
reasonable for a long
period of time.
We've got a long period of
time with very reasonable
energy prices.
So I want to thank you
all for being here.
And maybe we'll
start with Mike.
Please.
Mr. Wirth: All right.
Mike Wirth with
Chevron Corporation,
Mr. President.
I'm proud of the work
our people are doing to
support healthcare
providers, first
responders, and all the
other vital industries
that keep our
economy going.
Thank you for having us.
The President: Thank
you, Mike, very much.
Appreciate it.
Ms. Hollub: Vicki Hollub
of Occidental Petroleum.
The President: Hi, Vicki.
Ms. Hollub: Thank you for
allowing us to be here
today and thank you for
all you're doing for us.
The President:
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Vicki.
Mr. Hager: Dave Hager,
with Devon Energy.
We're an independent oil
and gas company out of
Oklahoma City.
And thank you so much for
the leadership that you're
providing during this
challenging time.
And we -- you're the right
man at the right time to
balance all the
priorities.
And we're going
to be back.
Thank you very much.
The President: We'll
get it done, Dave.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Garland: Mr.
President, I'm Greg
Garland, Phillips 66.
Again, thank you for your
great leadership through
this pandemic crisis and
all that you've done on
the stimulus package, really, 
for the American economy.
I'm proud of
our employees.
They're working to provide
energy and improve lives.
The President: We think
it's going to come back quickly.
It's -- it's ready.
We're ready.
And we've got the right
packages out there.
So -- Mr. Garland:
We need it, too.
The President: Very good.
We're looking at a -- I
think we're going to be
really looking very
seriously at a
infrastructure package
where -- it's so important
for our country.
You know, as of this
moment, Darren, we have $7
trillion-plus in
the Middle East.
For what? For what reason?
And we don't put money
in our own country.
So we're going to do a
big -- a big package on
infrastructure fairly
soon, I think, and that's
very important.
And it's great for you,
great for everybody.
Darren, please.
Mr. Woods: Thank
you, Mr. President.
Darren Woods, Exxon
Mobil Corporation.
I'd like to add my thanks
for your leadership in
this space, as well, and
say I think all of our
companies here align with
your objective, which is
to get the economy moving
and to make people's lives
around the world better.
The President: Good.
Great job you've done.
Thank you.
Mr. Hamm: Harold Hamm,
chairman of Continental
Resources, also out
of Oklahoma City.
Thanks for having
this meeting.
I think this is so
timely and necessary.
Really appreciate your
leadership, also the
friendship that you've
kept with the Saudis --
the Saudi Crown minister
-- or Crown Prince, and
also Vladimir Putin.
I know those haven't been
easy sometimes, but at
this time, it was
particularly needed.
So I represent our
company, as well as DEPA
-- Domestic Energy
Producers Alliance.
And we're about 10,000
companies and individuals
-- mostly independent
producers.
The President:
That's great.
Great job you're doing.
I think President Putin
and the Crown Prince want
something to happen badly.
Certainly terrible for
them, what's happening, too.
So they want to see
something happen.
I've spoken to both of
them and we'll tell you
about that in
a little while. Okay?
Thank you very much.
Mr. Hilderbrand: Thank
you, Mr. President.
Jeff Hildebrand, founder
and chairman, Hilcorp Energy.
Our distinction is we are
the only private company here.
This is a company that's
based in Houston,
domestic-only exploration
and production company.
And I'm really here
today to represent the
independent energy
companies, the
family-owned businesses
that are in this industry,
and to give you, really,
that perspective and add
to the conversation
in that regard.
The President: Good.
That's great.
Mr. Hilderbrand: So thank
you for your leadership.
The President: Thank you.
Mr. Hilderbrand:
Appreciate it.
The President: Great job.
Thank you.
Mr. Hilderbrand: You bet.
Mr. Warren: Thank
you, Mr. President.
Kelcy Warren,
Energy Transfer.
We're the only
pipeline company.
And so we try to do
business with everybody in
this room, and I think we
successfully do, actually.
So it's an honor to be
here, sir, and it's an
honor to be in this room
with these folks as well.
The President: And
everyone loves that guy,
right?
We all do.
Thank you very
much, Kelcy. Great.
Great job you're
doing, too.
He's not an oil
and gas man.
He's a wonderful person
and a wonderful politician
and he wants to see the
industry get strong again.
So, Kevin, do you have
anything to say, by the way?
Leader McCarthy: Well,
first, I want to thank you
for doing this.
Just by you reaching out
to President Putin and the
Crown Prince, things
have improved.
You're looking around at a
lot of jobs, but what else
you're not seeing at this
table: A lot of these are
small businesses that work
with all these individuals
around here.
And your action today,
with signing the CARES
Act, getting the
small-business loans out,
is going very strongly
-- The President: Yeah.
Leader McCarthy: -
because it's needed.
The President:
It's doing well.
Leader McCarthy: But the
American economy -- the
greatest strength is our
-- what energy provides us.
You provide us
at a good price.
These are great jobs.
But more importantly, it also 
gives us energy independence.
It changes the whole
dynamics around the world.
And so I thank you for the leadership
and what you're doing.
The President:
Thank you, Kevin.
And as you just said,
the Bank of America,
in particular, has really --
of the big banks -- has
really stepped into it.
They have done
a fantastic job.
Today, it's over -- Leader
McCarthy: Ten thousand in
the first two hours.
The President: Yeah.
Bank of America has
been unbelievable.
And I want to thank them.
I want to thank all of the
community banks and the
smaller banks that have
been loaning a lot of
money -- paycheck.
It's all about
the paycheck.
And that -- nobody would
have believed it could
have gone so well.
So it's -- it's just
a number of hours.
But the numbers are far greater 
than we would have anticipated.
So it's been really great.
And thank you to all the
banks, but again, in
particular,
Bank of America.
They really stepped right
up and they did it.
There were no big deals.
They weren't making a big
deal out of anything.
So that was terrific.
And I think what we want
to do -- John Cornyn, please.
I know how you are so
involved in this, coming
from the great
state of Texas.
Would you like to say a
couple of words, John?
Senator Cornyn: Thank
you, Mr. President.
Thank you for
convening the meeting.
Many of us have been
talking together, but we
can't get done what
needs to be done.
Only you and the
administration can.
And particularly, getting
the attention of the
Saudis and flooding the
markets, really adding
insult to injury in a time
when on our economy was
suffering anyway because
of the coronavirus.
And so this meeting could
not be more timely.
I agree with what's been
said about the importance
of affordable energy to
our standard of living.
And, really, we've changed
the -- changed the world
as a result of the
production of domestic
energy here, and improved
the quality of life for a
lot of people.
The President: Thanks
very much, John.
Really good job.
And John agrees -- we were
talking about it the other
day -- that you've all
done well, but you've also
kept energy very
affordable, really.
Very, very affordable
and very -- a lot of it.
We never had any problems.
And we're going to
keep it that way.
Do I see Dan back there?
Dan?
Senator Sullivan: Yes,
sir, Mr. President.
(laughter)
The President:
I was looking -- I thought
that looked like Dan.
Senator Sullivan: I want
to thank you for convening
this meeting.
You know, under the Trump
administration, working
with the
Congress, the U.S.
has become the world's
energy superpower again.
It's unbelievable.
And these companies
have done it.
Obviously it's a very
important issue in my
state, the great
state of Alaska.
But these are great jobs,
as John Cornyn just said,
for all of our states.
But it's really important
for the national security
of our country too.
And we have been -- a
number of senators have
been reaching out, having
frank discussions with the
Saudis, saying, "Hey, if
you're a longstanding ally
of ours, we're not --
right now, you're hurting
a lot of our citizens.
You're hurting a lot of
the people we represent
and shouldn't take
us for granted."
We have a great military
that's protected Saudi
Arabia for decades.
And Senator Cramer and I
have some legislation that
could possibly change that if 
they don't start cooperating.
So again, we appreciate
your leadership with the
Crown Prince, with the Russians, 
in calling this meeting.
But this is a great
sector of the U.S.
economy that, once we get
through this, and we will
-- of this pandemic, this
-this sector is going to
take off again.
And your -- your
administration and you
have had a lot to do with
the strength of the U.S.
energy sector.
And we need to
keep it strong.
The President: Thank
you very much, Dan.
And Kevin Cramer,
North Dakota.
People don't realize how
big
a producer North Dakota is. Right?
Senator Cramer:
Well, Harold knows.
(laughter)
Senator Cornyn: Harold knows.
Senator Cramer: It sort
of allows the others
(inaudible).
The President: Harold --
Harold knows, that's for sure.
Senator Cramer: Mr.
President, to echo
everything and maybe add
a little bit: The people
around your Cabinet table
right now are part of the
renaissance of oil and
gas in this country.
But since you became
President, we went from a
renaissance to security,
to independence, to dominance.
And that dominance and
that security are -- right
now are in some danger.
Just a quick example: In
North Dakota, since Saudi
Arabia and Russia
announced their little
price war, we've had $6
billion of cutbacks taken
out of our state,
planned for this year.
The President: Yeah.
Senator Cramer: I was
economic development
director when the entire
gross domestic product of
North Dakota
was $13 billion.
So that's significant.
That represents not just
capex; that represents
lots of jobs, lots of
people in the value chain.
And I would just add one
word to what Dan talked
about with regard
to Saudi Arabia.
It is estimated by one
report in 2018 that we
spent a minimum of $81
billion defending global
oil supplies.
We can use that money in
national defense and other
hotspots in the world, if
our friends are going to
treat us this way.
So I appreciate your
outreach this week.
I think we're halfway
there just with the
success of your
diplomacy this week.
Thank you for
this meeting.
The President:
Well, it's gone up.
It's gone up.
And we have to.
Otherwise, we do -- we
lose a lot of jobs too.
We're talking about one
of the big job producers
anywhere, Kevin, right?
Would you have
anything to say?
Mr. Sommers: Mr.
President, thank you.
I'm Mike Sommers.
I'm President and CEO of the 
American Petroleum Institute.
The folks around this
table represent the
American energy
revolution, and we want to
thank you for everything
that you've done to
support that revolution.
And we want to make sure
that revolution continues --
The President: Right.
Mr. Sommers: -- after this
pandemic crisis is solved.
The President:
Thank you, Mike.
Mr. Sommers:
Thank you, sir.
The President: Thank you. Very good.
Leader McCarthy: I think
Senator Cruz was somewhere
-- The President: I
think he's around here.
Leader McCarthy:
Right back there.
Ted can't be seen.
The President: Where --
where is Senator Cruz?
Participant: He's hiding
behind the press.
(laughter)
The President:
I can't believe it.
He's gone -- he's gone
over to the evil side.
(laughter)
That's terrible.
Cruz, what are
you doing there?
Senator Cruz: Mr.
President, thank you
for convening
this meeting.
This is an important
meeting and this is the
time, as you know, of
crisis all across the
country -- a public health
crisis and an economic crisis.
As you've heard, and as
you know, from everyone
around this table, the
energy sector has been a
huge part of the economic
success and boom that
we've enjoyed over the
last several years.
And the combination of
the economic harm of the
coronavirus crisis,
combined with the Saudis
and Russians waging
economic warfare on jobs
in this country, it's been
a perfect storm in the
energy sector.
And I'll tell you, there
are a lot of jobs -- there
are millions of jobs in
Texas and across the
country that are
represented by the men and
women around this table
and by energy producers.
And there are small
producers throughout Texas
and throughout the country
who are -- who are on the
verge of being driven
out of business.
And so this -- this
meeting, I think, is important.
Every one of the senators
in this room has had
multiple conversations
with the Saudis, leaning
in hard on the Saudis.
And your leadership and
diplomacy with the Crown
Prince had a big impact
getting them to stop
flooding the market and
taking advantage of this crisis.
And I would underscore one
other issue that a number
of the folks around this
table have raised and I'm
very concerned about: is
ensuring that those in
energy in this time of
crisis have access to capital.
That -- there are jobs
that are hanging in the balance.
And if the energy
producers in this country
that have made America the
number one producer of oil
and gas in the world can't
access capital to get out
of this crisis, we're
going to see bankruptcies
at a level this country
hasn't seen in decades.
And so this meeting and
the continued leadership
of your administration
is hugely important.
Thank you.
The President: Good.
Thank you very much, Ted.
And while you're up, the
concept, and, for instance
-- I think we should say
it in front of the media
-- but oil reserves,
storing oil.
We're filling up the
national reserves, as you know.
We're getting the
oil at a great price.
But at these prices -- in
fact, Kevin and I have
been speaking about it;
John and I have been
speaking about it -- at
these prices, you would
think you'd want to fill
up every cavity that we
have in this country.
And there's some areas in
Louisiana and other areas
that could be filled up;
they hold a lot of oil.
But at these prices -- and
it would be good and it
would keep everybody
working -- but you would
think you'd want to
fill up those areas.
What do you think
of that, Ted?
Senator Cruz: Look, I
think that's exactly right.
I think it makes sense
in terms of easing the
pressure that is
threatening these jobs.
But it also makes sense
for the taxpayer.
The President: Yeah.
Senator Cruz: That
Strategic Petroleum
Reserve is there
in times of crisis.
And usually the way the
federal government works
is we buy when it's
expensive, and we sell
when it's cheap.
The President: Yeah.
No, it's -- Senator Cruz:
We actually have an
opportunity now to
buy when it's cheap.
I think it was inexcusable
that Democratic leadership
in the House and Senate
blocked that in this bill
we passed last week.
And then I think Congress
needs to go back and address it.
Leader McCarthy:
It was in the bill.
Senator Cruz: Yep.
Leader McCarthy: And then
the Speaker came in and
that's the one thing --
when she held this bill up
for the number of days
-- that she removed.
The President:
Twenty-dollar oil.
Think of it.
Leader McCarthy: Yeah.
The President:
Twenty dollars.
Senator Cruz: Well,
and there are too many
Democrats -- The
President: It's politics.
Senator Cruz: -- that
want to see these -- The
President: It's all right.
Senator Cruz:
-- jobs go away.
The President: I think you
should go back though, Kevin.
I think you should go back
and see, John, if you guys
can go back and do
a separate bill.
And beyond that, you know,
I think it's 75 million
barrels right now
to fill it up.
That's not that much.
So it's fairly in
pretty good shape.
But we have other areas
that are bigger, frankly,
that we can fill up too.
But at those prices, we
should be -- we should be
pumping it out.
So maybe you guys can
check on it and see what
you can do about it.
I don't think anyone
can reject it.
Nobody can reject it.
Ted, you'll work on that?
Senator Cruz: Absolutely.
The President:
Anybody else?
David, you guys okay?
David, you want
to say something?
Secretary Bernhardt: So just 
one thing, Mr. President.
The Department of the
Interior manages a large
portion of land and
part of the offshore.
And one of the things we
have done over the last 15
days as you had the "slow
the spread," we have
really had our inspectors
out on the frontlines
working to make sure that
the production that's
taking place is occurring
in a safe and a
responsible manner, and I
thank everybody for their
cooperation in that.
These jobs are so
important to the American
people, and it's important
that we make sure that we
dot our I's and
cross our T's too.
The President: He's the
biggest landlord in the country.
(laughter)
Meaning, it's called Interior.
Interior is a lot of land,
when you look at it.
Thank you.
Great job you're doing.
So, Dan, go ahead.
Secretary Brouillette:
Mr. President, thank you.
Thank you, sir, for
your leadership.
The President:
Thank you, Dan.
Secretary Brouillette: M
name is Dan Brouillette.
I serve the President as
the Secretary of Energy.
With regard to the
storage, Mr. President,
I'm happy to announce we
went to market this week
for 30 million barrels.
Notwithstanding the -- the
desire of the Congress not
to give us new money to
pursue this idea, we have
found an alternative
financing mechanism --
The President: Good.
Secretary Brouillette: -
so that we can
immediately find --
The President:
I figured you would.
(laughter)
I actually
wasn't worried about it.
(laughter)
Secretary Brouillette: -- 
so that can we can find --
The President: What are you 
paying per barrel?
Secretary Brouillette:
I'm sorry, sir?
The President: What
are you paying?
(Laughs.) He didn't
want to answer.
Secretary Brouillette:
It's going to be a little low.
(laughter)
The President:
What are you paying per barrel?
A flexible price or
would it -
Secretary Brouillette: They
may be paying us.
This could be
a little low.
The President: So we're
going to go negative, like
interests rates. Negative.
Secretary Brouillette:
But, Mr. President, I just
wanted you to know -- and
for the industry players
who are here: We are
moving very aggressively.
We're using every tool
that we have at the U.S.
Department of Energy, not
only to provide immediate
relief for this particular
industry and the economy
itself, but also to look
for technologies that over
time will reduce the cost structure
for the entire industry.
So we're moving as
aggressively as we can, sir.
Thank you for
your leadership.
The President: Dan, check
out other areas where you
can store oil.
Secretary Brouillette:
Yes, sir.
The President: And there
are some very big ones,
bigger than what
we have now.
And at these prices,
you should do it.
Secretary Brouillette:
Yes, sir.
The President:
Refill it up, right?
Secretary Brouillette:
Yes, sir.
The President:
Fill up the tank.
Okay, Bob Lighthizer,
you've been so great.
And this isn't your
meeting really, but Bob
has done some of the best
trade deals ever done in
our country.
And one of them has kicked
-- it actually kicked in
on April 1st, and
that's with China.
And I hope they're
buying a lot. I hope.
Ambassador Lighthizer: I don't 
(inaudible) say anything.
The President: Want
to say something?
Ambassador Lighthizer: I'm
here to answer questions,
Mr. President, so I'll
just -- I'll just keep my
mouth shut.
But the trade
deals are working.
China is good.
We're on -- we're
on track with USMCA.
But I'll just
answer questions.
The President:
He's very shy.
That's good.
He just wants
to make deals.
That's all.
And you've done
a great job.
Thank you very much.
We will have a news
conference at about 5 o'clock,
5:15 maybe.
And so we'll see you
in a little while.
We'll answer questions.
But this is a great group
of leaders, and we've got
to make sure that we
preserve and even make
greater our
energy industry.
And I want to thank
all of the senators and
congressmen, the boss
here, for being here and
for working so hard.
They are -- I'll tell you
what:
They are calling me constantly.
They want your industry
to be successful and they
really -- and they're
going to make it that way.
We're all going to
make it that way.
So I'll see you at 5
o'clock and -- same place.
We look forward to it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
The Press: One question
about testing.
Was anybody in here
tested for coronavirus?
We got the new guidance?
The President: Well, would
anybody like to be tested?
How about you?
You want to be tested?
The Press: I would love
to be tested, actually.
The President: Huh?
The Press: I think
all of us would.
The President: We might
-- we might be able to do that.
You know, it's a
great question.
No, you know what?
I like it.
Let's test these guys.
You know, they gave
us millions of jobs.
Listen, they gave us
millions of jobs.
If anybody wants to be
tested, we'll test you.
I want to test
the head of Exxon.
The Press: Will this
be for every meeting?
The President: No.
Not for every meeting.
