Trump intends to tap Chris Wright as Energy Secretary
Photo: Chris Wright, chief executive officer of Liberty Energy Inc. (photo from open sources)
President-elect Donald Trump intends to appoint Chris Wright as Secretary of Energy. Wright is a strong advocate for oil and gas extraction and utilization and denies the existence of a global climate crisis, according to Bloomberg.
Wright is the CEO of Liberty Energy Inc., a company providing hydraulic fracturing services for oil and natural gas in Colorado, and has no experience working in Washington. He has made a name for himself as a staunch supporter of fossil fuels, arguing that they are essential for expanding prosperity and lifting people out of poverty. In his view, the threat of global warming is overstated.
“Chris has been a leading technologist and entrepreneur in Energy. He has worked in Nuclear, Solar, Geothermal, and Oil and Gas. Most significantly, Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution, which fueled American Energy Independence and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics,” Trump said in a statement on Saturday.
The president-elect also announced that, if confirmed, Wright would join the newly created National Energy Council, which will be chaired by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Trump’s nominee to lead the Interior Department.
Trump promises to revive liquefied natural gas export projects that were paused under the Biden administration. Although the Department of Energy does not have significant authority over oil and gas extraction, Wright will play a leading role in helping Trump advance his energy priorities.
The selection of Wright, whose company is one of the largest providers of hydraulic fracturing services worldwide, signals Trump's support for the controversial hot-button method of oil and gas extraction.
No climate crisis
The new Energy Secretary nominee holds engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley.
This year, Wright's company published a 180-page paper concluding that climate change "is far from the world’s greatest threat to human life" and that "hydrocarbons are essential to improving the wealth, health, and life opportunities for the less energized."
“There is no climate crisis. And we are not in the midst of an energy transition either,” Wright said in a video posted on his LinkedIn page.
He warns that subsidies for wind and solar energy drive electricity prices, increase grid instability, and support alternative energy. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors for small modular reactor developer Oklo Inc., and his company invests in geothermal energy and sodium-ion battery technology.
Wright is also on the board of directors of EMX Royalty Corp., a global mining royalty company.
Trump appointed Wright with the backing of Harold Hamm, chairman of Continental Resources, Trump’s energy advisor and donor. In an interview with Houston-based industry publication Hart Energy, Hamm said Wright was his choice for the position.
Energy emergency
If confirmed by Congress, Wright will play a central role in executing Trump's campaign promise to declare a national energy emergency. The president-elect has stated that this will help boost domestic energy production, which he claims is necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity to support artificial intelligence.
During Trump's first administration, the Department of Energy played a key role in reviving the US coal industry, and he has hinted that he may attempt to repeat this initiative.
Wright will also oversee the fulfillment of Trump's promise to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in case of emergencies. The reserve, with over 700 million barrels capacity, has fallen to its lowest level since the 1980s, following an unprecedented 180-million-barrel drawdown by the Biden administration after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Trump’s team appointments
Following his victory in the November 5 election, Donald Trump began announcing the names of potential members of his administration.
Senator Marco Rubio is expected to be appointed Secretary of State.
Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota will hold two administrative positions: Department of the Interior and the new US National Energy Council.
The new press secretary will be Karoline Leavitt, a former member of Trump’s previous administration.
Russian-born Boris Epstein may become a special envoy for peace in Ukraine.
Trump chose Elise Stefanik as US Ambassador to the UN, who called the Organization a "cesspool of antisemitism."
