donald trump <u+2019>s surprise victory fanned expectations in the energy industry that he would clear the path for new pipelines, end u.s. participation in global climate change pacts and undo environmental regulations to boost american coal mining. the prospect that the president-elect would roll back years of obama administration policies buoyed investors in fossil fuels companies wednesday<u+2014>while sending shares of top wind and solar power firms tumbling. the s&p 500 energy sector index was up about 1.5% overall midday to 517.28. scott sheffield, chief executive of pioneer natural resources co. , said mr. trump<u+2019>s victory will perk up the country<u+2019>s stagnant drilling boom by making it easier to build pipelines that unlock areas rich in oil and gas, such as the marcellus shale formation in pennsylvania and ohio. <u+201c>his message about creating jobs is why he broke the blue wall<u+201d> and attracted votes from democrats in some states, mr. sheffield said. shares in energy transfer equity l.p . , the dallas-based pipeline company building the hotly contested dakota access pipeline, jumped 18% to $16.52 amid hopes that mr. trump will give a green light to the project. the 1,170-mile pipeline linking the north dakota oil fields and texas has become mired in protests and extra environmental reviews by the u.s. army corps of engineers because of its route across the missouri river and lands considered culturally sensitive to the standing rock sioux tribe. an energy transfer spokeswoman said wednesday that the company expects the pipeline to begin moving oil in the first quarter of 2017. during the campaign, mr. trump invited transcanada corp. , the calgary-based company that proposed the transcontinental keystone xl pipeline linking canada<u+2019>s oil sands to the texas gulf coast, to reapply to build that project, which was rejected by the obama administration in 2015 after seven years in regulatory limbo. <u+201c>transcanada remains fully committed to building keystone xl,<u+201d> said company spokesman mark cooper. <u+201c>we are evaluating ways to engage the new administration on the benefits, the jobs and the tax revenues this project brings to the table.<u+201d> green energy companies fared less favorably as investors braced for mr. trump to reverse mr. obama <u+2019>s renewable power and climate policies . shares of sunpower corp. fell 14% to $6.32, while solarcity corp. was off 5% to $19.75, and vivint solar inc. nearly 9% off at $2.92. other clean-energy stocks were also trading lower, including tesla motors inc., whose shares dropped 4% to $186.58, and wind farm developer pattern energy group inc., which was down nearly 7% to $19.66 in midafternoon trade. still, some rooftop solar executives voiced optimism, saying green power enjoys support from a bipartisan majority of consumers. <u+201c>we do not see this election as changing its course,<u+201d> ed fenster, chairman and co-founder of san francisco-based sunrun inc., whose shares fell 6% to $4.69. mr. trump<u+2019>s election immediately called into question whether the u.s. will stay committed to an agreement to combat climate change signed by nearly 200 nations last year in paris. mr. trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has said he would cancel the accord, and cut off u.s. aid to a $100 billion global fund to help poorer nations address climate change. <u+201c>climate change policy is going to come to a screeching halt,<u+201d> said robert mcnally, president of energy-advisory firm the rapidan group and a former adviser to president george w. bush. <u+201c>the paris agreement from a u.s. perspective is a dead agreement walking.<u+201d> mr. trump has promised to reverse obama-era environmental regulations on mining and burning coal that are widely blamed in america<u+2019>s coal country for the wave of bankruptcies , mine closures and layoffs the industry has suffered through this decade. analysts say the main culprit for coal<u+2019>s decline is natural gas, which has flooded the market since the development of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and is unlikely to wane, as mr. trump has also promised to liberalize fracking. still, some coal executives said they expected a more level playing field under mr. trump. <u+201c>so be it. that<u+2019>s good for america,<u+201d> said robert murray, chief executive ceo of murray energy corp., regarding competition from natural gas. <u+201c>but we do need to eliminate the subsidies for the makers of windmills and solar panels.<u+201d> some energy experts expect that a trump administration may also reconsider economic sanctions that the obama administration imposed against russia. that would be a boon to exxon mobil corp. , which invested billions in russian exploration projects that have been put on hold since 2014. <u+201c>we intend to work constructively with the president,<u+201d> said exxon spokesman alan jeffers. oil man harold hamm, the chief executive of continental resources inc. and one of mr. trump<u+2019>s key campaign energy advisers , said wednesday that he would support mr. trump taking a harder line on geopolitical rivals in the energy industry, like saudi arabia, who he said the u.s. had coddled in the past. <u+201c>some of the countries, saudi arabia in particular, have been treated too kindly, because of the large supply of oil,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t think that may be the case in the future.<u+201d> mark ammerman, a former banker and longtime energy deal maker in houston, said executives he spoke with as election results became clear -- even some who voted for mr. trump -- were shocked by the results. <u+201c>now what people want to know is, <u+2018>will he do what he said he was going to do?<u+2019><u+201d> he said. <u+201c>there is skepticism out there that he was just saying what he had to say to win.<u+201d> <u+2014>amy harder, ted mann, timothy puko and cassandra sweet contributed to this article. write to bradley olson at bradley.olson@wsj.com , john w. miller at john.miller@wsj.com and lynn cook at lynn.cook@wsj.com
oil, coal seen as winners with donald trump victory  - wsj
bradley olson john w. miller lynn cook