[ti:Experts Divided over How Trump Policies Will Affect Oil Industry] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM [00:01.16]Oil industry leaders and experts have conflicting opinions [00:06.16]about what the policies of U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump [00:11.24]could mean for the oil industry. [00:14.60]Low oil prices have hurt profits for leading oil companies in recent years. [00:22.88]However, prices are rising again, creating other problems. [00:29.68]Jack Gerard is president of the American Petroleum Institute, [00:36.20]a group that represents the oil industry. [00:40.84]Gerard notes that Trump has promised to change regulations and reform taxes. [00:48.68]He says that could help energy companies and lead to more oil industry jobs. [00:56.68]Gerard said America's oil and natural gas industries support 9.8 million jobs. [01:07.40]He thinks the industry could create hundreds of thousands of additional jobs [01:14.04]if what he called "smart" regulation was put in place. [01:20.88]He says the "smart" rules would replace ones that appear [01:26.08]to duplicate existing measures or are in competition with them. [01:33.68]Other observers say some of Trump's proposed policies and his statements [01:40.68]present problems for international oil markets. [01:45.28]Diane Munro is an oil industry expert. [01:50.68]In December, she wrote a story for the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC. [01:58.84]The non-profit group aims to increase understanding of the Gulf States in the United States. [02:08.96]Munro wrote that some of Trump's statements present, [02:14.72]in her words, a "cauldron of contradictions." [02:19.64]For example, Trump has strongly criticized the 2015 nuclear agreement [02:26.32]between Iran and world powers. [02:29.84]The agreement eases many economic restrictions on Iran [02:35.60]in return for limits on its nuclear activities. [02:41.12]The president-elect said he would consider canceling the deal. [02:47.00]Munro wrote that Trump also has threatened to ban oil imports from the Middle East, [02:54.84]accusing oil producers there of unfairly controlling prices. [03:01.20]Statements against the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) [03:09.16]have been considered unfriendly to Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia, she noted. [03:17.04]Munro added that such statements are likely to cause concern or "rattle" the oil market. [03:27.16]They also might hurt already the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, [03:33.36]which she described as "fraying." [03:37.04]At least one nominee for Trump's cabinet has strong ties to the oil industry. [03:45.84]His choice for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, [03:50.44]retired as chief executive officer at ExxonMobil earlier this month. [03:57.36]Tillerson is to receive a retirement deal valued at $180 million from his former employer. [04:08.36]Gerard praised the nomination as "world class." [04:14.08]He said Tillerson's skills can represent the nation well. [04:21.04]But Munro called the choice "oil-centric." [04:25.24]She wrote the nomination appears to show the growing influence of Russia on U.S. policy. [04:33.80]She said this will create a mixed message for America's Middle East allies. [04:41.68]Tillerson has good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. [04:47.80]Under his leadership, ExxonMobil has developed oil projects in Russia [04:54.85]and also in the South China Sea, with Vietnam. [05:00.02]Oil prices have been rising since OPEC members [05:04.72]announced a deal to reduce production in late November. [05:09.83]OPEC has historically had a difficult time enforcing its agreements, however. [05:18.05]It is difficult to predict how the cartel's latest move will affect prices this year. [05:27.05]I'm Mario Ritter.