Perry would bring oil industry ties to Energy Department
WASHINGTON — Rick Perry, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for energy secretary, has close ties to the Texas oil industry and corporate roles in two petroleum companies pushing for government approval of the proposed 1,200-mile crude oil pipeline that has stoked mass protests in North Dakota.
Perry’s current position as board director at Energy Transfer Partners LP and also at Sunoco Logistics Partners LP, which jointly developed the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline project, is a strong indicator of the pro-oil industry sentiment that will likely take root at the Energy Department under his oversight. The former Texas governor is close to Texas energy industry executives, and his political campaigns, including two failed presidential bids, benefited substantially from their donations.
Perry would not have authority to intervene directly after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision last month to delay the pipeline to allow talks with the Standing Rock Sioux and other project opponents. The Army will decide whether to grant an easement near the Sioux reservation in North Dakota, and the departments of Energy, Interior and Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency have had lesser supporting roles.
Trump announced his choice of Perry on Wednesday, calling him “one of the most successful governors in modern history, having led Texas through a sustained period of economic growth and prosperity by developing the state’s energy resources and infrastructure.”