North Dakota governor charts his path to Interior with a rosy state oil and gas outlook

BISMARCK, N.D. — President-elect Donald Trump has given his choice for Interior secretary a mandate to “Drill baby drill,” and on Wednesday his pick, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, offered a rosy budget picture to lawmakers based largely on his state’s success in extracting near-record levels of oil and gas from the ground. Besides serving as Interior secretary, Trump has chosen Burgum to lead a newly created National Energy Council that intends to ensure U.S. “energy dominance.” “We look forward to the next four years where we believe that there’s going to be a shift towards innovation over regulation and an opportunity for North Dakota and our mineral owners to be able to more quickly and easily get permitting to access those natural resources for our country,” Burgum told a packed House chamber, also lamenting dozens of energy-related federal regulations his state is fighting. Oil taxes have come in 13% over forecast in the state’s 2023-25 budget cycle, or $475 million more than projected, according to a November report. Burgum’s $19.5 billion two-year budget recommendation projects oil production of 1.1 million barrels per day in the 2025-27 budget cycle, with oil prices of $62 and $60 per barrels in each year of the next two budget years, respectively.