US Could Buy Stakes in Energy Firms: Mnuchin

The US government is open to acquiring stakes in US energy companies in order to support the oil and gas industry during the Covid-19 crisis, the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said April 24.

"The president has asked me to work with the secretary of energy and we're looking at a whole bunch of alternatives,"  Mnuchin said during a White House event.  "That is one of the alternatives, but there are many of them," he said, referring to the possible acquisition of equity stakes.

President Donald Trump also suggested at the event that the US could bulk-buy airline tickets at a discount to support the airline industry, and then sell them onto consumers. He also asked Mnuchin to look into acquiring oil cheaply for later use.

"The United States is the largest user of oil. We could buy oil at a great price into the future. That gives them the infusion they need, and we have oil at a great price into the future," Trump said.

The president added he expected Russia and Saudi Arabia to make additional cuts to production beyond those agreed on April 12 by the Opec+ group. The US' key producing states Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota are also cutting production, as is Canada, he said.