GasTech Conference Speakers Debate The Future Role Of Natural Gas

Executives from some of the world’s biggest energy companies slammed the natural gas policies of the Biden/Harris administration at this week’s GasTech Conference in Houston as an Energy Department official pushed back against the barrage of criticism.

Chevron CEO Michael Wirth appeared to criticize the administration’s numerous moves to restrict and hamper drilling for and exporting US natural gas when he said, “We can double down on the “either/or” approach that dominates today’s discourse, which too often pits people and solutions against each other. Or we can evolve toward an “all-in” approach that recognizes many solutions are needed.” Wirth went onto express his belief that “economic prosperity, energy security and environmental protection is an achievable goal, not a zero-sum struggle.” It’s a view that has become increasingly unpopular among environmentalists as the war on fossil fuels by western governments, including the Biden/Harris White House, has grown more intense in recent years.

Cheniere Energy CEO Jack Fusco, whose company has been forced to endure a moratorium on federal permitting for new LNG export facilities this year thanks to an executive order issued in January by President Joe Biden, warned the government-forced energy transition will take longer to evolve than currently expected. Fusco added his belief that climate alarm advocates do not understand how energy systems really work.