The energy secretary selected by U.S. President-elect Trump on Wednesday pledged to focus on what he called restoring U.S. energy dominance. [emphasis, links added]
“President Trump shares my passion for energy, and if confirmed, I will work tirelessly to implement his bold agenda as a nation. Unabashed stewards of all affordable, reliable, and secure American energy sources,” Chris Wright told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during his confirmation hearing.
Wright said he would focus on three pressing priorities if confirmed. “That starts with unleashing America’s energy at home and abroad and restoring our energy dominance.”
“Our nation's security starts with energy,” Wright said.
“Previous administrations viewed energy as a liability rather than a huge national asset,” he said.
“To compete globally, we must expand energy production, including commercial nuclear power and liquefied natural gas and lowering energy costs for Americans,” he stressed.
Wright's second priority is U.S. “Leading the world in innovation and technological breakthroughs.”
“Throughout my lifetime, technology and innovation have dramatically improved the human condition,” he noted. “We must protect and accelerate the work of the Department’s national laboratory network to ensure America’s competitive advantage and its security.”
offshore drilling
The Free Energy CEO's third priority, he said, is “Building things up again in America and removing barriers to progress.”
“Today's federal policies make it too easy to stop programs and very difficult to start and complete them. This makes energy more expensive and unreliable,” he added.
Incoming President Trump “is committed to lowering energy costs, and to do that, we must Prioritize cutting red tape, supporting private sector investment and building the infrastructure we need to make energy more affordable for homes and businesses,” he said.
Earlier this month, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he would ban new offshore oil and gas drilling along much of the U.S. coastline, but Trump has vowed to quickly reverse that.
“Banning offshore drilling is not going to work. I will reverse this immediately,” Trump said.
Republicans claim Biden has slowed U.S. oil production.
According to the latest official data, U.S. oil production was 13.5 million barrels per day (BPD) last October, up from 11.1 BPD in January 2021, the last month of Trump's first term.
Reading break at Anadolu Agency
