President at The Energy Workforce & Technology Council - Tim Tarpley

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the nationally syndicated Energy Mix Radio Show produced
by the Energy Network Media Group. The Energy Mixed Radio
Show will give you an inside look at the energy
industry and how it affects you by talking with industry leaders, experts,
and government officials on the Energy Mix Radio Show.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
And welcome back to the Energy Mix Radio Show, the
show where we dive deep into the world of energy
innovation and policy. I'm your host, Kimbalatto, and today I
have a very special guest, Tim Tarpli, who is the
President at Energy Workforce and Technology, joining us today to
discuss pressing issues surrounding national energy emergency and the urgent

(00:37):
need to repeal unnecessary regulations on the energy sector. Tim,
thanks for being here today.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Glad to be here.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Let's begin with a quick introduction to the Energy Workforce
and Technology Mission. Can you tell us a little bit
about what your work revolves around.

Speaker 4 (00:51):
Sure Energy Workforce and Technology Councils the national trade association
for the Energy services and Equipment sector that is about
two one hundred and twenty companies It involves. It includes
companies like big big companies like Baker Hughes, Halliburton SLB,
but also includes the entire wealth servicing sector and as

(01:12):
well as the wealth stimulation sector, and then all the
equipment manufacturers that service this.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
Part of the industry.

Speaker 4 (01:17):
So it's a very diverse group of companies there are.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
It's also, as our.

Speaker 4 (01:22):
Name suggests, it's a big portion of the actual workforce
in the energy industry. Six hundred and fifty thousand men
and women work for the companies that we represent, and
that is in all fifty states, most congressional districts, So
it's a very diverse, diverse workforce that's all over the country,
and it includes all the supply chain for the industry.

(01:45):
We're a full service trade association, so we handle workforce
training for our members, we handle networking events for our members,
and we're also full service government affairs, so we handle
government affairs both the federal, state and local level for
our companies across the country well.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
And the latter part of your mission is basically what
I hope to achieve today on Today's What I hope
to achieve on today's show is discussing a lot of
the policies globally as well as here at home. But
Tim memory serves me correctly. Were you joined me on
the show in the heat of the campaign cycle for presidency.

(02:26):
What a glorious when But tell me what I know,
we were both hopeful that we would have stronger energy
policies with the new administration, the Trump administration, and a
lot of people got what they wanted. I think he
won overwhelmingly the vote on both places, electoral and the
popular vote. But tell me a little bit about going

(02:47):
back and thinking about what you're seeing unfold. How we
kind of see that the presidency is going to be
the Trump administration, And how were you all reacting over
there at Energy, Workforce and Technology your members.

Speaker 4 (03:00):
Sure, well, you know, the the administration has taken a
number of steps in the first you know, the first
weeks of the administration via executive order, which we're we're
very happy about and very supportive of the In many respects,
they're doing exactly what they said they were going to.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Do on energy.

Speaker 4 (03:20):
We've seen in these initial executive orders an end to
the Biden administration's LNG pause, which, as we we've discussed
on the show, was a bureaucratic way to essentially stop
new permitting for LNG facilities in the United States. This
not only hurt the workforce, here in the in the US,

(03:41):
because these long term l G contracts are very good.
They're stable contracts that the companies can plan for and
maintain a workforce in the production of gas. So it
not only hurt the US workforce US companies, it also
was very detrimental to our allies of broad as you know,
countries in Europe and in other places in the world,

(04:04):
as they look to you know, diversify their energy supply
and pick stable, reliable partners for their energy.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
The US is a natural choice.

Speaker 4 (04:13):
But when you throw in this, this bureaucratic regulatory kind
of curveball, it makes them kind of step back and say, hey,
maybe the US isn't so stable and isn't our best
long term training partner. That's obviously the opposite thing we
want to do not only for our foreign policy, our
national security, but the national security for our allies abroad
as well.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
So we're really happy to see that see that ended.

Speaker 4 (04:34):
There's also some language in those initial executive orders that
not only end the pause, but that direct DOE to
look at ways to expedite the permitting for the permits
that are waiting. So I think that's an important part.
Everyone is talking and rightfully, so is talking about how
great the end of the pause is, but there's actually
a step forward beyond that. Is is directing you know,

(04:55):
Doe to to expedite these permits because often times a
long wait for a permit is just as impactful as
a pause because you know, companies can't start building obviously,
they can't sign long term contracts.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
That slows everything down. So all good.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
There are there any other executive orders that you feel
are really great for the energy sector right now, because
he has signed quite a few right and.

Speaker 3 (05:22):
Along with the end of the LNG pause.

Speaker 4 (05:24):
In that initial executive order unleashing American energy, the President
also directed his agencies, all relevant agencies to take a
look at all of the administration administrative actions and regulatory
decisions that the agencies have made that could be hindering
oil and gas, primarily oil and gas development, as well

(05:46):
as nuclear and higher power in some of the other
forms of energy that are out there. So the agencies
are going through a review process right now to look
and see what actions that they that the prior administration
has taken that has slowed the development of American energy. So,
you know, we as a trade association, we're working with
the administration to give them some suggestions on potential regulatory

(06:08):
actions that could be you know, altered or rescinded, and
that are hindering.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
Oil and gas development.

Speaker 4 (06:13):
I think that's a really good thing to do, is
take a pause, review everything, figure out what makes sense
and what doesn't, and then move forward. So we're supportive
of that of that strategy. Additionally, in that executive order,
the President directed Department of Interior to to not only
not only look at what regulations in that agency need

(06:35):
to be reviewed, but also to renew the lease sales
for onshore and offshore, which had been there was a
pause under the beginning of the Bide administration. Then the
pause turned into kind of a slow down and then
a slow walk of these sales. Now we're very hopeful
that we'll return to a normal schedule for lease sales,

(06:55):
which removes a lot of uncertainty both in the offshore
and onshore. And it's very similar to the LNG pause.
Companies have to spend a lot of money to develop
offshore resources. It's a long term project. It's ten years
before went for When you get to the least often
till first oil. So it's a significant investment, and if
you have this regulatory uncertainty where you're not quite sure

(07:17):
if you're going to get a lease sale, you're not
quite sure, it slows down investment. And so we're really
happy to see that bureaucratic slow down hopefully gone.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
Here for at least for the next four years.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
Well, you know, you mentioned earlier that President Trump has
come in and has kept his campaign promises, and how
refreshing is that to see a president not just say
a whole bunch of stuff on the campaign trail and
then they don't deliver it. Actually, President Trump one of
his biggest stants was energy dominance, and he came in
and he's been showing I'm serious about taking away all

(07:54):
the roadblocks that the previous administration you know, had been
putting in place to block you know, energy development. So
the question would be, how do you think the Trump
administration's focus on energy dominance is going to impact the
energy industry in the long term, like, you know, four
years and hopefully JD. Vance takes up the same policies

(08:15):
as the Trump administration and would get re elected. But
when we talk about energy dominance, and you mentioned long
term investments, they're all long term investments in many ways
takes a lot of money and regulatory hurdles to get over.
Can four years really move the needle, if you will,
to set up a very strong energy dominance in the

(08:38):
United States kind of ability.

Speaker 3 (08:41):
It's a really good question.

Speaker 4 (08:42):
And obviously, as we've talked about, you know, energy is
long term projects. It's not something necessarily that just turns
on a switch. So really getting back to a place
where we have bipartisan support for US energy production and
we stop having this back and forth, you know when
administrations switch would be a positive thing.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
Hopefully we can get to that.

Speaker 4 (09:06):
Place, and hopefully as we see some of these policies
that this administration is taking, we see a bipartisan recognition
that producing oil and gas in the United States is
a positive thing and that it should be supported.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
We won't see, you know, these attempts to slow it down.
That that's a hope.

Speaker 4 (09:22):
As far as as other things that may help in
the long term. One thing we haven't talked about yet,
and this was a in a separate executive order that
the President did on day one, is he declared a
National emergent emergency for energy. And I think this is
important when it comes to perning or form. This declaration
of a national emergency allows agencies to take certain actions

(09:45):
to speed up permitting, speed up parning for things like
when we have NEPA issues involved, things like uh ESA,
endangered species, these are all block uh These are problems
that slow down permitting in the United States. And as
you know, we have a significant increase in energy demand

(10:07):
coming over the next thirty years. You know, really, whatever
projection you look at, we need to build out a
lot of infrastructure in the United States. We need to
lay a lot of pipe. This is This is for
oil and gas, this is even for new technologies like hydrogen.
It's all going to need new pipeline infrastructure.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
And we need to we need to spend.

Speaker 4 (10:24):
A lot more on our grid, and we need to
build a lot more natural gas fired power generation. All
that needs to happen if we're going to support the
demand that's coming. We can't do that without permitting reform.
So I think that that other executive order, that emergency declaration,
it'll help. We also need Congress to pass permitting reform
because the declaration is just a short term, a short

(10:45):
term fix.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
It's not going to fix the problem forever.

Speaker 4 (10:48):
But I think it's a really good positive step in
the right direction, along with you know, this administration working
with Congress to really get a big permitting reform package
across the line, and more hopeful happens the next year.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Well, a little bit later on in the show, I'm
going to come back to this question and drill down
a little bit more about specifically energy reform and what
does that look like, because I'm sure a lot of listeners,
including myself, really want to try to understand a little
bit more what are the needs that Congress will have
to do to ensure that we don't keep having a
very flimsy energy policy due to whatever administration gets into

(11:24):
the White House. But let's take a quick break. When
we return, I want to talk a little bit more
about the benefits of right now what we're seeing and
is there any downsides that the industry leaders see in
the way of maybe an over abundance, an over a saturation,
and how does that affect the industry if we start
ramping back up again, Because we do remember in the

(11:47):
past how when we would ramp up, it would crash prices,
and so it's a very careful balance in my opinion.
Let's take a quick break. You're listening to the Energy
Mixed radio show, and we'll be right back.

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Speaker 2 (13:02):
And we're back you're listening to the Energy Mix radio show.
My guest today is Tim Tarpley, the president at Energy,
Workforce and Technology. Tim. Before the break, we discussed a
little bit about some executive orders shop administration has rolled
out recently pertaining to energy. But I want to continue
about the general sentiments of what is happening in the
energy sector regarding all of these new administration policy changes.

(13:25):
We're going to get a little We're going to get
into a little bit later on the show some of
the nominees that will be taking hold of the energy
policy for the United States. But are any of your
members we're hearing the benefits or you're explaining some of
the benefits. Are there any folks in the industry looking
at some downsides in a mature way and not a
negative way. But you know, too much too quick also

(13:48):
can have unintended consequences when we look at pricing for
crude and stuff like that. So tell me your feelings
on it. Trump is coming in and he's making a
lot of changes quickly. Is there any downsides potentially to
the energy industry doing stuff too quickly?

Speaker 4 (14:06):
I think it's an excellent question. I probably wouldn't you
use the term downside. However, it is important to remember
when we talk about removing all these regulatory burdens, removing
encouraging more domestic production, which is certainly to the benefit
of the industry and I think to the benefit of
the national security and energy security of the United States,

(14:26):
that ultimately how much production occurs is a market decision
is based on market. Oil and gas is a commodity.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
It is, it is used all around the world, It's
traded all around the.

Speaker 4 (14:39):
World, so you know, the development is going to react
to those market signals. So removing regulatory burdens is a
good thing, and it allows the US to produce oil
and gas at a competitive cost to other areas of
the world, which is a positive thing. However, removing those
regularity to burns doesn't just mean all of a sudden

(15:00):
that oil and gas production is going to necessarily increase dramatically.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
It may if the market, if the.

Speaker 4 (15:07):
Market, you know, it directs it towards that increase in production,
but it won't just be a switch. And I think,
you know, a flipping of a switch that comes on.
So I think it's important when we talk about this
that we remember that, you know, the regulations and the
policies is one thing, but you also have the market.
And the market it's very hard to predict, and that
will be the primary driver for what happens with the production.

Speaker 2 (15:29):
So recently, the reason, one of the reasons why I
wanted you back on the show was you recently released
a blog in which you explained how the current National
Energy Emergency highlights the need for energy reform in the
energy sector. In the previous segment, I told you I
wanted to come back and visit what does that look
like when you mentioned Congress will need to act in

(15:51):
order to really shore up that our energy policy is
stable and really cannot be altered from administration to administration
when we're talking about such an important commodity, our energy supply.
So what is the national You know, the blog you
put out, the current National Energy Emergency highlights for regulatory reform.

Speaker 4 (16:10):
Well, you know this is this is the uh. This
kind of relates to the first first Week executive Order
that the President put out, which gave the agency's ability
to expedite certain permitting in the United States.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
The bottom line is.

Speaker 4 (16:24):
It takes too long right now in the United States
to get a permit for a lot of things. We'll
just talking about natural gas. On average, it now takes
this from filing your permit to when you actually get
the permit. On average, in the United States, it takes
more than five years to get a permit for a
natural gas pipeline that is crossing crossing state lines. It

(16:45):
can it can be faster in some in some states
if you're just dealing with with in trust state pipeline.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
We're talking about interstate pipeline. That's if you get your permit.

Speaker 4 (16:52):
Sometimes it's quite it's quite longer than that, and you
have you have deeper issues. You have legal you'll have
kind of targeted lawsuits from environmental groups that will systematically
file lawsuits using certain legal strategies in order to slow
down the project and if they can ultimately kill it.
Certainly the public has a right to comment on these

(17:14):
on these pipelines.

Speaker 3 (17:15):
That's that's all well and.

Speaker 4 (17:16):
Good, but we need to reform the ability to just
systematically target and slow down any infrastructure project, energy infrastructure
product project that is that is suggest it in the
United States. Are even are some of our competitors which
are known for not being as quick with regulatory actions
as the United States. Their average time is now less

(17:38):
than ours folks like Canada, Australia. So when that starts happening,
and some of our competitors, you know, internationally, you can
get a pipeline there faster than you can get on here,
it's time for us to step back and say something's
wrong and we need to change it. And if you
add on top the energy demand increase projections that we
see in the United States, we have to do something

(17:58):
and I think everyone recogn that. And it's not just
oil and gas. It's getting a permit for for an
injection well to for sequestration, for carbon sequestration. It's getting
a permit for a hydrogen pipeline to build out, you know,
a hydrogen system.

Speaker 3 (18:11):
It's everything.

Speaker 4 (18:12):
It's everybody needs it. It's transmission for new uh you know,
new power plants and new new transmission, you know. So
it's it's it's everybody. Everybody in the energy system needs
needs permitting reform. And the emergency declaration by the President
I think is a very positive step forward. It does
give the agencies immediate ability to take certain actions which

(18:33):
I think will be beneficial. But you need that permanent
certainty that can only be delivered by Congress and that
permitting reform build to get out of Congress, And.

Speaker 2 (18:44):
I want you to drill down a little bit more.
But I want our listeners to understand that not all
listeners are pro experts in way of energy, but the
loss that you gave they kind of get an understanding.
We need to focus on energy because it affects utilities
and all kinds of different areas. But one that you
haven't mentioned yet is the demand that we see coming

(19:04):
when we're talking about AI and these massive gorule centers
and things that are just gobbling up energy, and they
too are relying on energy sources that we really don't
seem to have enough to even fulfill that. So that
being said, now, I hope our listeners understand there's a
huge demand coming. Just picture a wall, a huge wall

(19:27):
and ocean coming towards you and really no way of
being able to figure out how are we going to
meet this demand unless we really start taking it seriously
right now, Tim we have to take a quick break.
When we return, I want you to give us some
examples of what Congress can do to immediately hopefully change
and deliver some energy reform to the United States. You're
listening to the Energy Mix radio show and we'll be

(19:48):
right back.

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Speaker 2 (21:22):
And we're back. You're listening to the Energy Mix radio show.
I'm kimball Otto, your host, and today my guest is
Tim Tarpley, the president of Energy Workforce and Technologies. Tim,
thank you for setting up for us a better understanding
of why energy reform is really important. So it stops
the pendulum from swinging to the left to the right
depending on who's in the White House and who's in Congress.

(21:44):
Can you give us some examples of what type of
energy reform Congress needs to look at in a way
of stabilizing our energy reform in a way that's meaningful
and will alleviate such great swings and chain from different administrations.

Speaker 4 (22:02):
So there's a good couple of good packages that were
in both the Senate and the House last year, and
we hope that they that the new leadership in the
House and Senate get together and bring a lot of
this up as one package. You had the Mansion Barrasso
Bill in the Senate, and then you also had a
lot of work in the House by Chairman Westerman, who's

(22:23):
Chair of Natural Resources. I'll start with one of the
things he's focused on is NEPA reform, and that is
changing the way that NEPA is being used as weaponized
and being used by some environmental groups to set up
a litigation that is primarily designed to slow down and

(22:43):
cancel projects. It's not designed really to look at the
merits of the project or the benefits of the project.
It's just designed to slow that down. So we need
a judicial reform, especially in regards to NIPA. Additionally, we
need to set up a system where when you apply
for multi a permit, there's multiple agencies that might touch

(23:06):
that permit, and you might have even multiple permits for
one project.

Speaker 3 (23:10):
Those need to all be being reviewed at the same time.
Right now.

Speaker 4 (23:15):
Often you have to get one permit, go to another
agency and get another, and it just it adds on
to the time to to to finalize a project that
should all be done at once. The government needs to
work like a private business. No private business would.

Speaker 3 (23:32):
To operate that way. So I think, you know, those those.

Speaker 4 (23:35):
Are two very very good reforms. Also, I think there
should be a clock. If you apply for a permit,
the agency has X.

Speaker 3 (23:44):
Number of weeks months to review it.

Speaker 4 (23:48):
Make that make that date fair where they have time
to review it, they can have public comments, et cetera.
But if they don't reply by a particular date, that
clock expires and then the permit is granted.

Speaker 3 (24:00):
That is so important.

Speaker 4 (24:02):
Because what we've what we see is some is sometimes
uh an administration, like we saw in the Biden administration
with with lergy permitting is they'll simply say, and with
with lease sales offshore and on shore is they'll say, well,
we're not going to cancel the lease sales. We're just
going to do a big review and we're going to
slow it down to the point that essentially they're canceled.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
This happens with permits.

Speaker 2 (24:25):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
You know, permits will wait for for years sometimes, and
so we need a provision in that in that permitting reform,
build that simply says it's been waiting this long. If
it's not, if it's not either granted or denied, it's granted,
and I think that would would help spur these agencies
to move and deal with things in a reasonable timetrame.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
Absolutely, I can't imagine that somebody would be rewarded a
department for not responding and doing their job right.

Speaker 4 (24:53):
Absolutely, definitely, because ultimately they're they're there for for the people,
and the people benefit from these projects. It's they're not
doing their job if they're just if they're just sitting
on it and not responding and bureaucratically, you know, slowing
it down, that's not right.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
I want to switch gears and talk a little bit
about President Trump's nominees, specifically Secretary of Energy and then
of course Secretary of Interior. But I'm going to be
coming up on a break, so let me try to
set it up and then when we come back from break,
I'll give you the floor. But it's very different this

(25:28):
administration than previous administrations due to the fact that President
Trump has actually selected people who have inside knowledge and
are very experienced in energy, as opposed to if we
look at the last administration. I'm not here to try to,
you know, degrade anyone in any way. But there's there's

(25:52):
something to say about experience versus you're an attorney, but
you don't really have any specifics or expertise in energy.
And yet we found ourselves in the last administration dealing
with an administration that really didn't have a good understanding
of how energy even works, and a lot of these
people it started to show with how easy it was

(26:14):
to just obstruct and put on regulations to slow things down.
As you mentioned, But as of right now, President Trump's
nominee Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy, and Doug Bergham, Secretary
of Interior, are very very well versed in what the
energy sector needs. They also come from a background where
they understand and had to deal with for a long

(26:35):
time environmental issues as well as just a delicate balance
of looking at how do we do all the things
we need to do and yet take great care and
making sure that we're doing it properly. So I'm sure
the energy industry itself is very happy to see that
finally we have somebody that's making policies that understand policy

(26:56):
energy policies. When we get back from break, I want
you to tell us a little bit about Chris Wright,
tell us a little bit about Doug Burgham, and a
little bit about what you think that they're going to
bring to the table that will be very different than
previous administrations and their selection for the secretaries that are
handling our energy policies. You're listening to the Energy Mixed
Radio Show, and we'll be right back, and we're back.

(27:22):
You're listening to the Energy Mixed Radio Show. I'm your
host today, Kim Blotto with a very special guest, Tim Tarpley,
the President of Energy Workforce and Technologies. Tim, before the break,
I asked you to comment and tell us really tell
us a whole lot about what the energy industry thinks,
or what you think the energy industry thinks about President

(27:42):
Trump's nominee for Chris Wright, who is with Liberty Energy
for Secretary of Energy, and Doug Bergham, who is a
Secretary of Interior. First, let's start with Chris Wright. Give
me your thoughts on what you think he's going to
bring to the table and how we look at policies.

Speaker 4 (27:56):
Well, I think I would be comfortable saying that I'm confident,
you know, the that the industry is very very happy
with the Chris Wright choice. I think that's an excellent
choice by the President. We know Chris Wright very well.
Liberty is a member of Energy Workforce and Technology Council,
one of our biggest members. We represent the well stimulation sector.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
Obviously, Liberty is a.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
About having access to to some policy suggestions.

Speaker 4 (28:25):
So yeah, Liberty is is a great, great company, and
Chris has done an excellent job building that company and
growing it and turning it into really nice, very attractive
place to work and a leader in the sector. Chris
Wright is extremely knowledgeable about energy. I mean, I can't
think of anybody that you can have a conversation with

(28:48):
that can cite more statistics and know the facts and
how things work in energy than him. You know, he's
put he puts out a report every every year Liberty
does Better Human Lives, and it talks really about the
moral case for fossil fuels and how important that oil

(29:09):
and gas and other fossil fuels are to improving the
lives not just of people here in the United States
but all over the world, and how you know, energy
poverty around the world is a huge indicator for really
the quality of life for people, and that by producing
morail and gas and making that available not only to
everyone in the United States and needs, but everyone around

(29:30):
the world, and ending energy probably and.

Speaker 3 (29:32):
How important that that is for people's lives.

Speaker 4 (29:35):
The work he's done there is really really amazing, and
I think it's going to be excellent at Secretary of Energy.
As you mentioned, you know that, not to pick on
the prime administration, but some you know, some of the
folks they had were more political picks. They may have
been a governor of a state like Michigan or.

Speaker 3 (29:51):
Others where there wasn't a whole lot of energy production.

Speaker 4 (29:54):
They're gonna have a different view of energy than someone
that's been right in the middle, somebody like Chris Wright.
And that's, you know, I think why we're so excited
about what he can do there. I also think it's
good in any administration, doesn't matter which one it is,
to have individuals who have a business background. It's you know,
nothing wrong with happening a governor or a politician in there,

(30:16):
but it's good to have a business.

Speaker 3 (30:18):
Person in there as well.

Speaker 4 (30:19):
They're going to give different perspective, They're going to see
things slightly different than somebody that's been in politics. The
whole their whole career, and that's good.

Speaker 3 (30:26):
It's good to have.

Speaker 4 (30:27):
Different voices, different views, different perspectives in any administration. So
I'm really excited with that that choice of Chris Wright.
I'm really happy for him, and I think he's going
to do a lot of great things there.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
You know, one of the reasons why I like Chris
Wright's background and experience is because I also think he's
going to bring a very balanced approach, being, like you said,
an entrepreneur having his own service company. He's also understanding
how innovation is changing, you know, the way that we
do this, the way that we produce energy. And then

(31:00):
but at the same time, all energy companies, rather it's
an oil company, a service company, matter, it doesn't matter
what stream they're in, up mid down the whole supply chain,
everyone has also had to be very concerned with environmental
concerns and impacts. So when you have a balance, because
he's had to navigate these waters himself personally, and understanding

(31:21):
how this energy works, pertaining to look in at all
things as opposed to just one thing and having experience
in it all brings to me a very well balanced
approach as he's going to look at looking at our
energy policy. But let's switch gears and talk about the
unique perspective. But Doug Bergram brings as his role of
Secretary of Energy and how his experience as the governor

(31:45):
of North Dakota. We know how big North Dakota is
in the oil the benefit of the energy sector there.

Speaker 4 (31:52):
What do you think also, you know, we're very happy
with the pick there. I think an excellent choice for
Department of Interior. Somebody that has dealt with these permitting
issues and you know, he knows he knows what what
it means to have the federal government uh coming in
and slowing down permitting processes. Obviously, having been governor of

(32:15):
North Dakota, he's gonna have a perspective that he understands
oil and gas.

Speaker 3 (32:20):
Rick Perry in the.

Speaker 4 (32:21):
Prior administration obviously, former governor of Texas, had that similar
perspective and he was an excellent Secretary of Energy Energy.
I think Doug Burghram will have similar success at the
Department of Interior there.

Speaker 3 (32:35):
You know, Department Interior is.

Speaker 4 (32:37):
Incredibly important not only for energy, but for minerals and
all of these resources that we that the American people
have and they trust the federal government to uh to
you know, monitor and and make available for for the
public benefit. And and I think Doug Burgham is going
to be excellent at that.

Speaker 3 (32:55):
And and you.

Speaker 4 (32:55):
Know, the we really we're really glad that he was there.

Speaker 3 (32:59):
And we're looking forward to see.

Speaker 7 (33:00):
What he can do.

Speaker 5 (33:01):
Well.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
We're going to get ready for break. On the backside
of Break coming back, this will be our last segment,
and this one I'd like to cover with you the
announcement from Saudi Arabia to commit an investment of six
hundred billion dollars into the United States. And then I'd
also like to give you an opportunity to tell us
a little bit about some geopolitical situations that we should

(33:22):
be keeping our eye on, if you will. But let's
take a quick break. You're listening to the Energy Mix
radio show and we'll be right back.

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Speaker 2 (36:12):
And we're back. You're listening to the Energy Mix radio show.
I'm Kim Balatto, your host today. Joining me is Tim Tarpley,
the president at Energy Workforce and Technologies. Recently, Saudi Arabia
committed to investing six hundred billion into the United States
over the next four years, and this is a significant move.
Can you set us up a little bit or tell
us a little bit about why you think this investment

(36:33):
kind of underscores the economic ties between both our nation
and Saudi Arabia and what this means for them and
for us, and also how it pertains too oil.

Speaker 3 (36:44):
Well, it's an interesting question.

Speaker 4 (36:45):
I think the announcement certainly, you know, right after President
Trump taking office. I think that is one of the
real strong points that President Trump is able to do,
is go out and negotiate deals. I mean, that's his
that's his bread and butter, that's that's uh, that's what
you did for for a career before you got into politics.

Speaker 3 (37:02):
So these you know, these deals are very positive for
the United States.

Speaker 4 (37:07):
Any anytime you have a foreign country that's willing to
invest that large of an investment in the United States,
I think is good. You know, obviously we need to see,
you know, more details on how it's all going to work,
but it's a very positive thing. And certainly Saudi Arabia
and US relations incredibly important to our industry. A lot
of US companies, you know, have helped develop the Saudi

(37:28):
Arabian feels over the years, and we have you know,
a lot of our companies you.

Speaker 3 (37:31):
Know, work there now.

Speaker 4 (37:32):
So anytime you have good relations between the US and
Saudi Arabia and growing relations, I think that's a good thing.
It's a good thing for for oil and gas, and
it's a good thing for energy as a whole.

Speaker 2 (37:44):
I think also, you know, just the profound implications for
the energy sector with this amount of money coming in
is going to boost US infrastructure, technology, and then of
course trade as well. So interesting to see how that's
going to roll out. Let's switch gears and talk about
relationships pertaining to other countries in the US. First one

(38:04):
is Iran and US relationships. Tell me about the potential
for renewal sanctions on Iran's oil could it significantly impact
global oil supply and prices.

Speaker 4 (38:16):
Well, certainly, you know, the Trump administration, you know, the
first Trump administration had significant concerns about Iran and was
quite aggressive in their relationship with the Iranians, and I
expect that to continue. So certainly, I think the possibility

(38:37):
of additional sanctions is possible. The President likes to use
sanctions and tariffs as a tool to try to not
only end bad behavior on the part of the other countries,
but for other purposes. So certainly think that's a possibility,
and that's on the table. As far as its effects

(38:57):
on worldwide oil prices, you know, I am not I'm
not necessarily an expert on on that. However, I do
think there's there's adequate supply, and certainly with the the
production that's occurring in the Permian, I think the world
market can can weather you know, the loss of of
of a you know, a certain amount of Iranian oil.

(39:17):
But you know, we'll we'll see, but I certainly think
it's possible we do see.

Speaker 2 (39:22):
Some action by this administration on our n Let's talk
about Russia and the Ukraine conflict. Ongoing tensions and conflict
in that region continue to affect supply chain issues as
a specifically you know you also area of expertise and
how particularly it affects Europe. Can you tell us a
little bit about what you see with the new administration,

(39:42):
how he is going to handle Russia and Ukraine and
the conflict.

Speaker 4 (39:46):
Yeah, it's it's a great it's a great question. It's
an important thing for for our industry and really for
the whole the whole.

Speaker 3 (39:53):
Security of the world.

Speaker 2 (39:55):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (39:55):
You know, the president has has already he made some
comments to Russia indicating he was going to use additional
sanctions and tariffs against Russia if if they did not
come to the table and try to make a settlement
with Ukraine. That was that was some comments the President
made last week. So certainly it's it is uh, it

(40:17):
is on the top of his list. He made comments
you know, during the during the campaign as well, that
he wanted to end in the conflict. That was going
to be a priority in his foreign policy. You know,
it is a difficult situation. The Russians certainly have you know,
or in a place where it's difficult for them to
back down. It seems like they've kind of bet the
farm on on this. This invasion, and it's a difficult

(40:40):
spot for Putin to, you know, to back down at
this point. I personally, you know, I don't. I hope
there's there's a settlement, there's negotiation, but it could be
something that drags on for many more months and even years.
I think the conflict has served as a reminder, especially
to Europe, that it really matters where you get your

(41:01):
energy from, and you know, really energy security does matter.
I think there was maybe a laxadaisical attitude by some
in Europe that well, well, we can take Russian gas,
it'll be fine, you know, this will be a stable
source we can use forever.

Speaker 3 (41:14):
It turned out that that wasn't the case.

Speaker 4 (41:17):
The US, in my opinion, is a much better, a
much better ally, a much better trading partner to provide
natural gas. So we hope we see that market grow.
And that's why, you know, as we talked about it earlier,
it's important to end that l G pause so that
our allies over there in Europe can say, hey, we
can trust the US for the long term. This is

(41:37):
a good place to get our energy. We're not going
to run into a supply issue, you know, at a
later date. So I think that's a positive development with
within Europe, with our allies.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
I think the geopolitical instability can also lead us into
energy prices changing and supply disruptions. So it'll be interesting
to see how Trump maneuvers through that study situation as well. China.
Let's switch gears and talk about China. China is one
that always has baffled me. How come they always seem

(42:12):
to just never They're never at the table to talk
about energy policies or anything for that matter. China's approach
to energy includes its investments into renewables and its role
in the global supply chain for critical minerals. We all
know that we need those critical minerals as well. So
what do you see in the way of China and

(42:34):
how maybe the Trump administration. I know you're not President Trump,
but is there any ideas that you think that they
may have on how we're going to deal with China
and their energy policies.

Speaker 4 (42:45):
It's a great question, you know, I certainly think that
you know, you China US relations, you know, have to
be the top of the Trump administration's focus. You know,
over the next four years. Any administration that would have
been you know, at this point is going to have
to have that as their focus. China is you know,
very very aggressive around the world with their Belt and

(43:08):
the Road initiative. They are trying to obtain influence in
countries that are strategically important both geographically but also important
because of critical minerals, energy, et cetera.

Speaker 3 (43:20):
China is very good at playing the long game. There
are indications.

Speaker 4 (43:25):
That they could be looking, you know, to solidify their
claims and positions in the south of China, Sea, Taiwan
and other places.

Speaker 3 (43:34):
We don't know.

Speaker 4 (43:35):
You know, they're also very hard to read and to
telegraph what exactly they're going to do. Nobody really really
knows exactly how how that's all going to play out,
but you know, in the long term, I certainly think
the administration has made strong indications that it's going to
be their policy to encourage companies to move supply chains
out of China and to other places and back to

(43:57):
the United States if possible. How that's going to be
achieved via some sort of additional tariffs or some other strategy,
we don't know, And I think those negotiations are seem
to be all ongoing, But certainly think the President has
China policy kind of up up there as number one
or two on his foreign posca on them too.

Speaker 2 (44:18):
Yeah, well, some thing is for sure. As far as
I see President Trump, he would have made an excellent
oil man, you know. I mean, he's excellent in real estate.
But maybe this is where he retires, is after he
leaves the presidency, is coming and joining the oil industry
and leading a company. But Tim, that is all the
time we have for this show. Thank you for coming

(44:39):
and talking to us about the Trump administration and what
you guys are working on. And we're sure we'll keep
an eye on what you guys are trying to do
in the way of changing policies to benefit energy for
the United States. Thank you for joining me today.

Speaker 3 (44:52):
Pleasure to be here, and thanks for having me. Happy
to chat anytime.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
The Energy Mix Radio Show is where we explore topics
that affect us all in the oil and gas industry.
Every week, our host will interview the movers and shakers
in this fast paced industry. You will hear from industry experts,
elected officials, and many more on the Energy Mix Radio Show.