President Donald Trump vowed to bring down domestic prices and position America as an energy exporter by unleashing the “liquid gold” flowing beneath U.S. soil, stripping away what he deemed to be excessive regulations and adopting a slew of policies favorable to oil and gas drilling. 

“Once again, we will work to make America an energy producer. We’ll bring prices down, fill strategic reserves up to the top, and export American energy all over the world,” he said during his inauguration speech on Monday.

Chris Wright, a Denver businessman and Trump’s pick for Energy secretary, will play a key role in carrying out the vision.

In his confirmation hearing last week, Wright, founder and CEO of Colorado-based Liberty Energy, an oilfield services firm, said he would immediately focus his attention on three tasks — removing barriers to completing energy projects, accelerating the innovation work of the national laboratories and advancing American energy domestically and abroad.

“The security of our nation begins with energy,” Wright said. “Previous administrations have viewed energy as a liability, instead of the immense asset that it is. To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear and liquefied natural gas, and cut the energy cost for Americans.”

On Monday, the new president said America will be “a manufacturing nation once again,” noting the country’s vast reserves of oil and gas.

“And we are going to use it.”

Trump said he expects his orders to help reduce consumer prices and improve U.S. national security.

Environmental groups have said they intend to challenge the executive orders in court.

U.S. oil and gas production has already hit record levels under Biden’s watch, as drillers chased high prices in the wake of sanctions on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

But Trump has said production could be higher if environmental initiatives imposed by the Biden administration were rescinded. He said, for example, he intended to end the Green New Deal — a reference to Democratic climate efforts — and revoke what he called Biden’s electric vehicle mandates.

“In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice, and we will build automobiles in America again,” he said.

“We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump added.

With a slew of executive orders and policies expected in Trump’s first days in office, reversing the Biden administration’s limits on drilling on public lands is expected to be a top priority. Beyond oil and gas drilling in Alaska, the new president said he would also unleash America’s other resources potential in timber, seafood and critical minerals.

While no specific details were immediately available, the administration is likely to support projects to export liquified natural gas from the U.S. and abroad, according to the Washington Examiner report.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans earlier told Colorado Politics that America needs more energy to meet increased electricity demand, including powering electric appliances, crypto mining, and data centers used by the artificial intelligence industry.

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen told Colorado Politics in November that as the artificial intelligence industry continues to grow, a significant obstacle will be the energy required to serve it. She stressed that achieving those goals must keep climate impacts in mind.

Meanwhile, Trump said he will again withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement.

The White House announcement, which came as Trump was sworn in Monday to a second term, echoed Trump’s actions in 2017, when he announced that the U.S. would abandon the global Paris accord. The pact is aimed at limiting long-term global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels or, failing that, keeping temperatures at least well below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels.

The 2015 Paris agreement is voluntary and allows nations to provide targets to cut their own emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Those targets are supposed to become more stringent over time, with countries facing a February 2025 deadline for new individual plans. The outgoing Biden administration last month offered a plan to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% by 2035.

The withdrawal process from the Paris accord takes one year. Trump’s previous withdrawal took effect the day after the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Biden.

Ernest Luning, the Washington Examiner and Scott Weiser contributed to this report. The Associated Press and Reuters also contributed.