Chris Wright (energy executive)

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Chris Wright
Chris Wright by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Wright in 2023
United States Secretary of Energy
Presumptive nominee
Assuming office
TBD

Christopher Allen Wright [1] is an American businessman who is the CEO of Liberty Energy, North America's second largest hydraulic fracturing company. He is the presumptive nominee for United States Secretary of Energy under Donald Trump's second presidency. He is a board member of Oklo Inc., a nuclear technology company, and EMX Royalty, a royalty payment company for mineral rights and mining rights. [2]

Contents

In a 2023 LinkedIn post, Wright opined that "there is no climate crisis" and that the term "carbon pollution" is misleading. [3]

Early life and education

Wright grew up in Colorado and earned an undergraduate degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and MIT. [4]

Career

In 1992, Wright founded Pinnacle Technologies, a company involved in commercial shale gas production through fracking and served as its CEO until 2006. He was also chairman of Stroud Energy (current Stroud Exploration Company), [5] another company involved in the production of shale gas, before he sold the company in 2006. [6]

In 2011, he founded Liberty Energy. [7] As of February 2023, the company was valued at US$2.8 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal . [8]

In 2019 Wright drank fracking fluid to demonstrate that it was not dangerous, [9] and Liberty Energy promoted its "greener selections" for chemical additives. [10] In a video posted to LinkedIn in January 2023, he said, "There is no climate crisis and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either". [11] He stated that this is due to the high cost of non-fossil fuel sources, and pointed out the hydrocarbon energy and materials used to produce wind turbines as an example of the centrality of fossil fuels in the energy mix's future. [12] He claimed that the climate movement around the world was "collapsing under its own weight." [4]

In April 2024, he testified on the SEC’s climate change rule from March 2024, which requires the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, physical risks to climate change and transition risks. [13] He called the rule unlawful "climate regulation promulgated under the Commission’s seal", said that companies risks associated with extreme weather were decreasing [13] : 9  and that millions of lives had been saved by reducing cold-related deaths. [13] : 10 

Nominee for Secretary of Energy

On November 15, 2024, the Financial Times reported that Wright was the most likely candidate for United States Secretary of Energy in Donald Trump's second presidency; businessmen Ray Washburne and Paul Dabbar were also considered. [14] Republican Senator John Barrasso praised Wright as an "energy innovator". [15] He received several endorsements from Trump allies including American Energy Alliance president Thomas Pyle and Continental Resources chairman Harold Hamm. [16] The next day, Trump announced he would nominate Wright as the United States Secretary of Energy, and he would serve on the National Energy Council if confirmed by the Senate. [17]

Board memberships

Wright has been on the board of directors of Oklo Inc., a company who designs small fast-neutron reactors and EMX Royalty, a royalty payment company for mineral rights and mining rights. [2]

Personal life

In 2024, Wright donated $228,390 to Trump's joint fundraising committee. [18] As the CEO of Liberty Energy Wright earned $5.6 million in 2023. [18]

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References

  1. ↑ Report of proposed sale of securities (Report). Securities and Exchange Commission. August 9, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Christopher A Wright "Chris"". Bloomberg News . Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Trump nominates fracking magnate Chris Wright as energy secretary". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  4. 1 2 "Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary". AP News. 2024-11-16. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  5. ↑ "Stroud Exploration Company, LLC". Stroud Exploration Company, LLC. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  6. ↑ "Liberty Energy Leadership". Liberty Energy. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Home". Liberty Energy. 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  8. ↑ Morenne, Benoît (February 4, 2023). "Energy CEO Fights Climate Science. And LinkedIn. North Face, Too". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Trump picks oil industry CEO Chris Wright as Energy Secretary". Reuters. November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Green Select". December 20, 2019. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  11. ↑ Samuelsohn, Darren. "Donald Trump to nominate industry CEO Chris Wright to be secretary of Energy". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  12. ↑ "Five commonly used words around Energy and Climate that are both deceptive and destructive: climate crisis, energy transition, carbon pollution, clean energy, and dirty energy. #energysobriety". Chris Wright. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 "WRITTEN STATEMENT OF CHRIS WRIGHT, FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN & CEO LIBERTY ENERGY I NC " (PDF). House Committee on Financial Services. April 10, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  14. ↑ McCormick, Myles; Fedor, Lauren; Smyth, Jamie (November 15, 2024). "Oil boss Chris Wright leads race to be Donald Trump's energy secretary". Financial Times . Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  15. ↑ Matthew Daly, Will Weissert and Colleen Long (2024-11-17). "Trump names CEO of Denver-based oil and gas company as energy secretary". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  16. ↑ Natter, Ali (November 15, 2024). "Fracking Boss Picks Up Endorsements to Be Trump Energy Secretary". Bloomberg News . Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Donald Trump said he would nominate Chris Wright, the chief executive of Liberty Energy, an oil field services company, as his secretary of energy". The New York Times . November 16, 2024.
  18. 1 2 "What to know about Trump's energy secretary nominee Chris Wright". A. B. C. News. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
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