President-elect Donald Trump has chosen oil and gas industry CEO Chris Wright as his next energy secretary, with Trump seemingly intent on fulfilling his election promise to increase exploration and production.
Wright, a strong proponent of fossil fuels and a climate change sceptic, will head up the US Department of Energy once Trump is inaugurated in January.
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The new pick founded and leads Denver-based Liberty Energy, which uses fracking to extract hydrocarbons from its operations.
“Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fuelled American energy independence, and transformed the global energy markets and geopolitics,” wrote Trump in a statement on Sunday, as reported by several media outlets.
“Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace,” Trump added.
Wright will also join the Council of National Energy, which will oversee “the path to US energy dominance by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the economy”, said Trump.
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By GlobalDataDuring his first presidency, Trump removed numerous environmental restrictions. He also withdrew from the Paris Agreement on climate change, something he has promised to do again.
Then, under Joe Biden’s stint in the Oval Office, US oil and gas production boomed, making the US the world’s largest hydrocarbons producer.
