Well, according to Ryan Zinke, the Secretary of the Interior, it it should work for the oil and gas industry. At least that's what the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association quoted him as saying.[1]
That does seem to contradict what the Department of the Interior claims as its mission:[2]
❝ The Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, provides scientific and other information about natural resources and natural hazards to address societal challenges and create opportunities for the American people, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities to help them prosper. ❞
But, hey, I'm sure the Trump-appointed guy who actually runs the Department knows best.
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[1] https://twitter.com/LaOilGasAssoc/status/1042111137603567616
[2] https://www.doi.gov/whoweare
To be fair, the Vision statement starts off with this bullet:
" [To] Promote energy dominance and critical minerals development to create jobs for Americans, insulate our nation from volatile political developments overseas, provide additional energy security to allies via surplus domestic supply, and generate revenue for all levels of government so they in turn have the resources to better serve the American people. "
But the emphasis of even that seems to be on serving the American people. Not the Oil & Gas Industry.
I searched the LOGA website for additional coverage of Zinke's speech, but couldn't find it outside of the tweets that you mentioned. I did, however, find this tidbit from Zinke's boss, via a LOGA link to the Washington Examiner:
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President Trump said Thursday that Middle East countries should help push oil prices lower for the U.S., because the U.S. helps to protect nations in that region of the world.
“We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember,” Trump tweeted Thursday morning. “The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!”
= = =
Not sure how the LOGA people would feel about oil price decreases – especially since the Washington Examiner article goes on to say:
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But U.S. oil stocks have fallen to lows not seen in a few years. Crude oil prices have increased steadily over the last 12 months, from about $50 a barrel to more than $70.
= = =
After reading the President's genius economics pronouncements (akin to his emphasis that tariffs provide the U.S. government with revenue), I guess it's fair to question what Zinke means when he refers to the oil and gas industry. Does he mean:
1. The workers in the oil and gas industry?
2. The executives in the oil and gas industry?
3. The shareholders in oil and gas industry stocks?
My assumption is that Zinke is thinking about category 2.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/trump-opec-nations-should-lower-oil-prices-in-exchange-for-us-protection
The only thing that I could find on the Department of Interior website about Secretary Zinke's activities on September 18 was an announcement about the Land and Water Conservation Fund that he made from Acadiana Park in Lafayette, Louisiana.
His lunch plans were not discussed in the press release.
This topic is near and dear to my heart, because my undergraduate thesis concerned funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The press release addressed that, also:
"Since the inception of the LWCF, over $4.2 billion from responsible offshore oil and gas development has been made available to state and local governments to fund more than 43,000 conservation projects throughout the nation."
I guess one could create a somewhat convoluted argument that working for the oil & gas industry (by expanding offshore drilling) is in accord with the Department of Interior's mission, because more oil & gas revenue [footnote] means more National Park Service lands for the people to enjoy.
As long as there isn't another oil spill that messes up the seashore.
[footnote: provided that President Trump's actions don't decrease the price of oil and gas]
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-zinke-announces-100-million-support-state-parks-and-outdoor-recreation
Possibly more maintenance on existing National Park Service lands. Probably not more such lands, and probably less, given Trump's preferences.
The LWCF was also passed in 1964 — which prorates that $4.2b an awful lot, to about $78m/yr. Which is nothing to sneeze at, but a fairly small fraction of the (shrunken in 2018) $970m budget.
Nice to see that the US is still the second best government money can buy.