HOUSTON (Reuters) – Pioneer Natural Resources Co Chief Executive Tim Dove on Tuesday said proposed U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum would negatively impact his shale oil production company’s profits.
Dove’s remarks echoed several other energy executives who this week said they faced higher costs from tariffs, and said there are certain types of metal that are not made by U.S. companies. Pipeline and refining expansions could be revisited if the tariffs significantly raise costs.
The Trump administration has proposed putting a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports to support U.S. metal producers and manufacturing jobs.
“I hope there will be some focus on what this tariff will actually end up being. It will be impactful in a negative way on our returns,” Dove said during a panel discussion at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.
Sara Ortwein, president of Exxon Mobil Corp’s XTO Energy shale business, also said the oil and gas industry “is really the engine behind the economic growth in the U.S. Clearly anything that limits that is not something that we’re looking for.”
Pioneer’s Dove said he attended a dinner on Monday with OPEC officials and shale executives where rising global demand for oil was central to the conversation. It was the second time in two years that the two rivals have met in Houston.
“It’s the shale producers, it’s the OPEC producers, it’s the non-OPEC producers that are going to be needed to make sure we fill that demand as we go through the next many years,” Dove said. “I think shale has an important role to play, and I think that was acknowledged last night.”