• Industrial production has screeched to a halt in Transnistria after Russian gas flows were halted.
• The breakaway region of Moldova is heavily dependent on cheap Russian gas flowing via Ukraine.
• But Ukraine ended its agreement to transit the gas, plunging the region into an energy crisis.

A breakaway region of Europe has been forced to halt almost all industrial production after Ukraine ended the transit of Russian gas through its territory.

"All industrial enterprises are idle, with the exception of those engaged in food production — that is, directly ensuring food security," Transnistria's first deputy prime minister, Sergei Obolonik, said, per Reuters.

Obolonik said it was "too early" to say what will unfold, but the region risks "irreversible" changes if the problem isn't quickly resolved.

"Enterprises will lose their ability to start up," he added.

Transnistria, an autonomous region that broke off from Moldova in the 1990s, has been one of the hardest-hit following Ukraine's decision not to renew a gas transit agreement with Russia on January 1.

The pipeline's shutdown marked the end of an era for Russia's oldest gas route to Europe.

Almost a hundred large- and medium-sized industrial enterprises operate in Transnistria, according to its chamber of commerce.

The region is pro-Russia and is largely Russian-speaking. It hosts about 1,500 Russian soldiers, ostensibly on national security grounds.

In December, its government said that it was "making every possible effort to maintain natural gas supplies" in the face of the Ukrainian decision, and blamed Moldova for not taking joint steps to ensure the supply.

But on Monday, local energy company Tirasteploenergo warned that it would cut heating and hot water to homes starting January 1, reserving supplies for hospitals.

The company advised families to seal drafts and gather in a single room to save heat.

It suggested sealing cracks in windows and balcony doors, hanging blankets over them, and putting all family members in one room, warning that temperatures could drop to 23 degrees Fahrenheit in the capital, Tiraspol.

Some towns have set up "heating points" and local authorities are offering hotlines to help people find firewood, the BBC reported.

The region's leader, Vadim Krasnoselsky, has said that it has up to 20 days of gas reserves, and that energy production has switched from gas to coal, according to Reuters.

He added that there should be electricity for households through January and February.

Ahead of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe sourced around 40% of its gas from Russia. But the war sparked an unprecedented resolve to reduce countries' dependence on Russian energy.

Many have cut their reliance and found alternative, often more expensive, sources of gas.

The loss of Russian gas will badly impact Transnistria's economy, since the region has been getting gas basically free of charge from Russian state-owned giant Gazprom.

Moldova, an EU candidate country, could also be badly hit, as it gets 80% of its energy from a power plant in Transnistria. It faces a major hike in energy costs amid plans to switch sources, the BBC reported.

Other European nations could also be badly impacted, and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has appealed to the EU to find a way to keep Russian gas flowing via Ukraine.

"Halting gas transit via Ukraine will have a drastic impact on us all in the EU — but not on the Russian Federation," Fico said in a New Year's address.

• Trump's Cabinet picks for Interior, Energy, and EPA are allies of the oil and gas industry.
• They plan to expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and on federal lands and roll back climate rules.
• Scientists warn that burning more fossil fuels will worsen the climate crisis.

President-elect Donald Trump wants to stack his Cabinet with oil and gas supporters who plan to make it easier to drill on federal lands and waters and repeal climate rules for the industry.

If confirmed by the Senate, three key nominees would largely be responsible for executing Trump's "drill, baby, drill" agenda across the federal government.

Trump tapped Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, a Republican with ties to fossil-fuel executives, to serve as interior secretary. The Interior Department leases millions of acres of public lands and waters for oil and gas drilling.

Chris Wright, the CEO of the fracking company Liberty Energy, is nominated to serve as energy secretary. The Energy Department's pause on approvals of new export terminals for shipping US gas overseas is a top target of the incoming Trump administration, as are billions of dollars' worth of loans and grants accelerating the US transition to renewable energy.

And Lee Zeldin, a former congressman from New York who often voted against climate legislation, has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pollution from cars, trucks, power plants, and oil and gas infrastructure.

Burgum would coordinate the effort as the chair of the National Energy Council, which Trump in a statement on Truth Social said would consist of all the departments and agencies involved with "permitting, regulating, producing, generating, distributing, and transporting energy." Cutting red tape and regulations is their mandate, Trump said.

Scientists say that the US and other major economies must reduce the burning of fossil fuels to slow the climate crisis — which is already making hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, and droughts more destructive around the globe. Trump and his allies in the oil and gas industry argue that the US should boost production to drive down prices and help lower inflation, an issue voters cited as a main concern in the election this year. Energy analysts have said gas prices are mostly determined by global supply and demand, not the actions of any one president.

Here are three actions Trump's Cabinet is gearing up to take, based on interviews with several groups helping shape his agenda. When asked about these priorities, Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance campaign, said: "The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.

Resume approvals of new gas export facilities

At the Energy Department, Wright, if confirmed, is expected to start approving permits for new gas export terminals, which have largely been paused in 2024 by the Biden administration.

Biden paused approvals of new terminals in January until the department could analyze their impacts on greenhouse-gas emissions and energy costs for consumers. A federal judge blocked the pause this summer, and the department has greenlighted one permit since then. Republicans and the oil and gas industry accused the Biden administration of intentionally holding up the process. They argue the delays undercut America's leverage over its competitors, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Russia, and cost jobs at home.

The pause didn't affect terminals already under construction, which are on track to double US gas exports by the end of this decade, federal data shows. Some energy analysts and consumer advocates have said America's dominance in the global market could expose customers to more-volatile prices. A cold snap in Europe or unrest in the Middle East could spike demand for gas — and therefore prices — and the climate crisis is increasing the risks of extreme weather shocks.

"The incoming administration has an opportunity to bolster America's geopolitical strength by lifting the Department of Energy's LNG permitting pause, swiftly processing all pending export applications, and ensuring the open access of American energy to global markets," Amanda Eversole, the chief advocacy officer of the American Petroleum Institute, told reporters during a call last week.

Permit more oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico

The Interior Department between 2024 and 2029 is set to hold three lease sales for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico — the fewest number since the program began decades ago. The sales were required by the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed the department to offer a minimum amount of oil and gas leases before opening an auction for offshore-wind developers.

The oil and gas industry is pushing the Trump administration to issue a new five-year offshore-leasing program.

"There are companies that would pay for leases in the western Gulf of Mexico today if there was an auction held," said Kenny Stein, the vice president for policy at the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group advising Trump's energy agenda. "They have platforms and equipment already in place and could start drilling quickly."

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods similarly told CNBC earlier this month that there were areas in the Gulf of Mexico that could be tapped for more oil production in the long term. He doesn't expect a major US oil boom, however, because the market is already well supplied, he said.

The incoming Trump administration is also expected to shrink national monuments in the West to open up more public lands to drilling and mining, though those moves would likely be challenged by environmental groups in court, Stein said.

Roll back climate rules

Trump has promised to "kill" the EPA's regulations that limit emissions from cars, trucks, power plants, and oil and gas wells, pumps, and storage tanks. He has also called the Inflation Reduction Act the "green new scam" and promised to claw back subsidies for renewable energy under the law.

It's a replay of Trump's first term, when the EPA scrapped nearly 100 environmental rules. This time, some climate rules have support from automakers and big oil and gas companies. Woods of ExxonMobil told Semafor last week that the Trump administration should keep regulations to curb methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure. The largest US automaker group has said that the future is electric and companies are investing billions in the transition. But Trump attacked electric vehicles on the campaign trail, adopting the oil and gas lobby's messaging.

A full repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act is unlikely, in part because the majority of $220 billion in investments in manufacturing EVs, batteries, solar panels, and other renewables technologies are flowing to Republican congressional districts, David Brown, the director of the energy-transition service at Wood Mackenzie, said in a statement.