The U.S. secretary responsible for the conservation of wildlife and natural resources wants America to dominate the global energy sector and produce more oil and gas on federal land, FuelFix.com reports.
During a visit to Houston on Monday for the massive Offshore Technology Conference, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed secretarial orders to review opening more offshore areas to oil and gas drilling, including along the Atlantic Coast.
Zinke says he values not just American energy independence, but “dominance” to help create economic checks and balances on other oil-producing nations like Iran.
“Dominance is what America needs,” Zinke says, arguing he wants the Interior Department to incentivize such behavior. “If you’re in the oil and gas and energy segment in this society, the stars have lined up.”
Zinke also signed a separate order creating a new position—the counselor to the secretary for energy policy—to help coordinate such efforts.
