1. 2020 U.S. Election Impact on Nat Gas Industry

Examining each possible election outcome

How will the U.S. election impact the natural gas industry?

The results of the 2020 election will impact the entire natural gas industry, as the discussion during the recent vice presidential debate can attest. Understanding the limitations of executive power and the relationship between presidents and Congress is crucial to building a clear framework from which to consider the roads ahead.

In this insight, we’ve analyzed:

  • How natural gas will be impacted in each of the four possible presidential and congressional election scenarios
  • A primer on the federal balance of powers and the implications for presidential authority
  • A deep dive on FERC’s pipeline project approval process and the political roadblocks they face
  • and additional links to Wood Mackenzie research

As the U.S. presidential election remains undecided, stakeholders across the natural gas value chain are anticipating the effects on their businesses. The summary table below, based on a traffic lights system, highlights our assessment of the potential election outcomes. If you are currently a customer and would like access to more analysis and explanation, click here. If you are not a customer, but are interested in accessing the full report, fill in the form below.

The nuances of executive and congressional powers are crucial to understanding how the natural gas industry will be impacted by the election outcomes.

Clay Lightfoot

Director, Americas Gas Research

Clay has more than a decade of energy industry experience and a particular expertise in political and regulatory issues.

View Clay Lightfoot's full profile

Learn more about Wood Mackenzie’s North America Gas Service

  • Detailed long-term outlooks that integrate data across regions and commodities
  • Short-term price, supply and demand outlooks that define key market signposts
  • Explicit modelling of new pipeline infrastructure, including forecast takeaway capacity
  • Knowledgeable commentary on gas's role in power generation, complementary to the North America Power & Renewables Service
  • Forecasts of pipeline exports and LNG, informed by a global team of LNG analysts and regional gas market experts
  • Annual and monthly production forecasts by resource type and geography, filterable by 13 regions, 42 basins and 220 sub-plays in the US and Canada

View our US elections theme page where we aggregate Wood Mackenzie’s latest research on the topic, and be sure to bookmark the North America Gas Service landing page.