Meet Your New Energy Secretary, Colorado Petro-Evangelist Chris Wright

8 thoughts on “Meet Your New Energy Secretary, Colorado Petro-Evangelist Chris Wright”

1. Last sentence says it all. For this guy to be one of Trump's less controversial picks is remarkable.

   The planet is probably cooked. No survivors.

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   1. I went to HS with him.  He's very smart, and went to MIT undergrad if I recall.  But he's a full-on greedy, bombastic SOB.  I suspect he understands climate science, he just makes more money by lying about it.  

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2. The unsaid portion is that restarting the expansion on LNG exports will raise the price of NG in the United States as market particpants seek higher prices for their product. Which will raise the fuel cost adder for electric bills and for heating bills.

   Goodbye Henry Hub benchmark, hello JKM. 

    

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   1. The U.S. Dollar is being battered. Oil and gas have been traded in USD for as long as I have been alive, at least. Lately, however, Elon ( I’m gonna take over someday) Musk is angling to replace the gold standard with a bitcoin standard…I think.

      I do not pretend to understand the nuances of the world economy and the implications of monetary policy. 

      Does oil and gas on the JKM trade on USD? China and Taiwan are huge buyers.

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      1. Like nearly all O&G transactions, it trades in USD. 

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3. Key element here — the Department of Energy has next to nothing to do with petroleum or coal.

   The Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for advancing the energy, environmental, and nuclear security of the United States; promoting scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; sponsoring basic research in the physical sciences; and ensuring the environmental cleanup of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex.

   Or another take:

   The DOE was created in 1977 in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis. It sponsors more physical science research than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories.[3][4] The DOE also directs research in genomics, with the Human Genome Project originating from a DOE initiative.[5]

   Permitting wells?  Nope, that's done elsewhere, mainly by states.  Transporting oil via pipelines or other energy transport?  Nope,

   The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. FERC also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines as well as licensing hydropower projects.

    

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4. If this guy really wanted to promote oil and gas exploration and extraction, he would have asked for the Interior slot. DoE has very little to do with whether and how paritcular energy sources are used in this country. 

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5. Always worth taking a peak at Project 2025 to see what the goals may be (and in this case how they would pertain to oil and gas exploration and extraction):

   Eliminate special-interest funding programs. Many DOE energy funding programs are not targeted on fundamental science and technology; instead, they focus more on commercialization and act as subsidies to the Department of Energy and Related Commissions private sector for government-favored resources. The DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED); Office of State and Community Energy Programs; ARPA-E; Office of Grid Deployment (OGD); and DOE Loan Program should be eliminated or reformed. If they continue to exist, FECM, NE, OE, and EERE should focus on fundamental science and technology issues, particularly in relation to cyber and physical threats to energy security, rather than subsidizing and commercializing energy resources.

   Eliminate political and climate-change interference in DOE approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. In addition, Congress should reform the Natural Gas Act to expand required approvals from merely nations with free trade agreements to all of our allies, such as NATO countries.

   Focus the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) on ensuring that government buildings and operations have reliable and cost effective energy. FEMP should stop using taxpayer dollars to force the purchase of more expensive and less reliable energy resources in the name of combating climate change. 

   Focus FERC on its statutory obligation to ensure access to reliable energy at just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory rates. FERC is a five-member commission created under the DOE Organization Act that regulates the wholesale sales and transmission of electricity, promotes electric reliability through standards, permits natural gas pipelines and LNG export facilities, sets natural gas pipeline shipping rates, and sets oil pipeline shipping rates. It is an economic regulator and should not make itself a climate regulator.

   Also concerning:

   Fund the design, development, and deployment of new nuclear warheads, including the production of plutonium pits in quantity.

   Expand the U.S. Navy and develop new nuclear naval reactors to ensure that the Navy has the nuclear propulsion it needs to secure America’s strategic interests.

   End ineffective and counterproductive nonproliferation activities like those involving Iran and the United Nations.

   Eliminate FECM. The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate all of DOE’s applied energy programs, including those in FECM (with the possible exception of those that are related to basic science for new energy technology). Taxpayer dollars should not be used to subsidize preferred businesses and energy resources, thereby distorting the market and undermining energy reliability.

   Ensure that LNG export approvals are reviewed and processed in a timely manner. In particular:

   1. Ensure that LNG export applications are reviewed and approved expeditiously.
   2. Maintain the categorical exclusion from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for LNG exports that was established by the Trump Administration or (if it is revoked by the Biden Administration) reinstate it.
   3. Work with Congress to expand automatic approvals to include allies such as NATO as well as nations that have free trade agreements with the U.S.

   End the focus on climate change and green subsidies. 

   Eliminate energy e!ciency standards for appliances. 

   Eliminate EERE. The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate all of DOE’s applied energy programs, including those in EERE (with the possible exception of those that are related to basic science for new energy technology). Taxpayer dollars should not be used to subsidize preferred businesses and energy resources, thereby distorting the market and undermining energy reliability.

   Reject ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and indicate a willingness to conduct nuclear tests in response to adversary nuclear developments if necessary. This will require that NNSA be directed to move to immediate test readiness to give the Administration maximum flexibility in responding to adversary actions.

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