Chris Wright, CEO of the oil industry, is appointed Energy Secretary by Trump
Donald Trump, the President-elect, announced on Saturday that Chris Wright, an oil and gas executive who is a staunch supporter of fossil fuels, will be his choice to lead the Department of Energy.
Wright is the founder of Liberty Energy in Denver, a firm that provides oilfield services. He will likely support Trump's plans to increase oil and gas production and seek ways to increase electricity generation, which is on the rise for the first decade.
He will also probably share Trump's opposition against global cooperation in fighting climate change. Wright has compared climate change activists to alarmists and has compared Democratic efforts to combat global heating to Soviet-style Communism.
Wright stated in a LinkedIn video last year that there is no climate emergency and we are not going through an energy transition.
Wright, a man without any experience in politics, has written extensively about the need to increase fossil fuel production for people to escape poverty.
He is known as a tech-nerd and has a freewheeling, unrestrained style.
Wright created a stir in the media when he drank on camera fracking liquid to prove it wasn't dangerous.
The U.S. produced the most oil of any country under Biden. It is unclear how much Wright or the new administration will be able to increase that.
Private companies that work on land not owned or controlled by the federal government are responsible for most drilling decisions.
The Department of Energy is responsible for U.S. Energy Diplomacy. It administers the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which Trump wants to replenish, and it runs grant and lending programs to advance energy technology, like the Loan Programs Office.
The secretary is also responsible for the nuclear weapons complex in the United States, nuclear energy waste management, and 17 National Labs.
Wright, if confirmed by the Senate will replace Jennifer Granholm. She is a proponent of electric cars, new energy sources such as geothermal energy, and carbon-free nuclear, wind and solar energy.
Wright is also expected to be involved with the permitting of electricity transmission as well as the expansion of nuclear energy, a source of energy that is popular among both Republicans and Democrats. However, it is costly and difficult to permit.
The United States has seen its power demand surge for the first two decades, thanks to the growth of artificial intelligence, electric cars and cryptocurrency. (Reporting and editing by Nichola groom, Alistair Bell & Diane Craft).
(source: Reuters)
