What to know about Chris Wright, Trump's choice to run the Energy Department
Fossil fuel executive Chris Wright, Donald Trump's choice for Energy secretary, is a strong supporter of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of the president-elect’s quest for U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market
WASHINGTON — Fossil fuel executive Chris Wright, Donald Trump's choice for Energy secretary, is a strong supporter of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of the president-elect’s quest for U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market.
Wright has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, and he could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.
CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, he describes himself as “a tech nerd turned entrepreneur” and promotes the idea that more fossil fuel production can lift people out of poverty around the globe.
Here are some things to know about Wright.
Wright has been chairman and CEO of Liberty Energy since 2011 and has no experience in government.
Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned an undergraduate degree at MIT and did graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010.
Wright says on LinkedIn that he is “all-in on energy,″ from starting his career in nuclear, solar and geothermal energy to his current efforts in oil and gas
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