Hoeven Makes the Case to Senate ENR Committee for Chris Wright’s Confirmation as Energy Secretary

Hoeven Makes the Case to Senate ENR Committee for Chris Wright's Confirmation as Energy Secretary

Senator Highlights Wright's Impact on Energy Development in North Dakota, Secures Commitment to Help Advance CCUS Initiatives like Project Tundra

WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven today introduced Chris Wright, President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of Energy, at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee. As part of his remarks, Hoeven:

• Made the case to his fellow committee members for Wright's confirmation, highlighting his three decades of experience in the energy industry, as well as his long-time work to bring new innovations to market.
  • Hoeven highlighted Wright's role in creating the hydraulic fracturing mapping industry, which was critical in launching commercial shale oil development, including in the Bakken.
• Stressed the importance of deploying new technologies like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) to enable the development of all of America's abundant energy resources, including its vast oil, gas and coal reserves, while improving environmental stewardship.
  • Hoeven outlined North Dakota's leadership in CCUS and secured Wright's commitment to help advance initiatives like Project Tundra.
  • The senator and Wright further discussed how deploying such technologies here at home benefits the world, as other countries follow America's lead and can import U.S.-developed technologies to produce more energy with a smaller environmental footprint.

"If we really want an all-of-the-above energy policy for our nation, we need people like Chris Wright, who understand all aspects of energy and have the knowledge and capability needed to drive the latest, greatest technology and truly make the U.S. energy dominant. I can't think of anyone better able to do just that, based on his training, education, accomplishments and experience," said Senator Hoeven. "It's through having the right kind of legal, tax and regulatory climate that entrepreneurs like Chris were able to build North Dakota into a global energy powerhouse. Doing so not only increased oil production from less than 100,000 barrels per day up to 1.5 million barrels per day, but increased energy production from all sources. That's what we need to focus on for our nation and exactly what we're doing in North Dakota through innovations like CCUS."

Advancing CCUS

Hoeven has worked over the past 15 years to advance North Dakota's leadership in cracking the code on CCUS technologies to enable the next generation of clean, coal-fired electric power and ensure continued access to this reliable, affordable and abundant energy source. Among other priorities, his efforts have included:

• Putting in place the legal, tax and regulatory requirements to advance CCUS.
• Making North Dakota the first state to be granted regulatory primacy for Class VI wells, to ensure CO2 is safely and securely stored below the surface.
• Securing a demonstration grant from the Department of Energy to advance Project Tundra, enabling the coal-fired Milton R. Young power plant to capture and store 4 million metric tons of CO2 per year.
• Advancing Basin's Dakota Gasification synfuels plant, the largest coal-based carbon capture project in the world, which is currently in operation and captures up to 2.25 million metric tons of CO2 per year.

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