Saturday, November 12, 2016

Harold Hamm, Next SecEnergy? Bet On It -- November 12, 2016

Updates

November 19, 2016: this makes more sense. There is talk that Harold Hamm is being considered as some sort of high-level energy advisor to President Trump but not as a cabinet member. That makes all kinds of sense. Some are suggesting "energy czar" which I think is more likely. In addition, on the short list of those likely to help the new administration "repeal and replace" ObamaCare, Adam Hamm, ND Insurance Commissioner, appears on the list. 

November 13, 2016: I'm completely wrong. It makes no sense for Harold Hamm to be considered for the Energy Secretary. Despite its name, the DOE is primarily responsible for the nation's nuclear sector. If one is talking on-shore oil production, then one is talking Interior Secretary. See this post. When one reads the "job description," I don't see Harold Hamm as the best choice for Interior Secretary. It makes sense for Harold Hamm to be on the Trump team as an advisor, but not as a cabinet secretary. In fact, now that I've seen the short list, assuming the NYT story is correct, I'm quite disappointed in Trump's choices. Very, very uninspired.
 
Original Post
 
I was unaware of this being "official." I guess Harold Hamm really is Donald Trump's "official" energy advisor. From Financial Times:
Obama’s oil and gas regulations face fire from Trump. Rolling back curbs will be a priority for growth, says energy adviser Harold Hamm.
Wow.

I'll post the lede, but it doesn't matter. It's all boiler plate. The important thing here is that it's official. My thoughts:
Harold Hamm will be the next SecEnergy. I had completely missed that Harold Hamm was "officially" Trump's top energy advisor. Amazing. That's even better than having an "oilman" for President or VP. An oilman for DOE can do a lot of stuff off the radar scope.
Now, back to that boiler plate lede:
Harold Hamm, the billionaire chief executive and majority owner of Continental Resources, the US shale oil producer, told the Financial Times that he expected Mr Trump to prioritise tax cuts and deregulation as ways to stimulate economic growth.
“It worked well for Ronald Reagan to lower taxes, put American people back to work, and deregulate,” he said.
“So those are the two guiding principles, I believe, that Donald Trump will go forward with.”
During the election campaign Mr Trump promised to cut regulations on oil and gas production, open up new areas for drilling, and scrap the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, intended to curb carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation.

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