Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette distanced himself from the U.S. House impeachment inquiry during his confirmation hearing on Nov. 14, denying involvement in any contact with Ukraine beyond facilitating technical expertise for electricity and pipeline grids.

Brouillette, nominated by President Trump to replace outgoing Energy Secretary Rick Perry, discussed an array of topics with senators, including opportunities in the Arctic and infrastructure challenges during his hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

While the committee has yet to vote on whether to recommend Brouillette, which would lead to a full Senate confirmation vote, both Republicans and Democrats expressed support during the hearing.

“As deputy secretary, Mr. Brouillette has helped craft a solid agenda for the department that is focused on science and technology, including new fields like quantum and artificial intelligence,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman of the committee. “He has made a good impression on just about everyone and he is a great choice to replace Secretary Perry.” 

Ukraine

In response to questions from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the committee’s ranking minority member, Brouilllette said the matters discussed in conversations involving Perry and Ukraine did not involve him in his role as the chief operating officer of the department. However, he said the Department of Energy (DOE) was engaged in energy security issues for European allies and noted that DOE was attempting to counter efforts to build the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that connects Russia to Germany.

“We have worked very, very hard to offer alternatives,” he said. “Part of that has been the development of LNG export facilities here in the United States but it’s also working with countries like Germany and Croatia, Serbia, others in the proximity of Ukraine to develop LNG import facilities.”

Arctic

The U.S. needs to do more, not less in its support of oil and gas engagement in Alaska and the Arctic, Brouillette told the committee in response to a question by Murkowski.

“We see the Arctic not only as a resource for things like critical minerals and potentially environmentally sensitive energy development,” he said. “We see it for the purpose of not just extracting oil and gas. I think it’s expanded beyond that, much further than we could have imagined.”

Rare earth minerals are used in high-tech products like cell phones, memory chips and rechargeable batteries. China leads the world by far both in reserves, with an estimated 44 million tons, and production.

“As we move to a world of more and more renewable energy, our ability to develop battery storage becomes more and more critical,” Brouillette continued. “And the minerals that we receive today and rely upon -- the development of those types of batteries -- we’ve become dependent on nation-states who, quite candidly, do not have our interests at heart. And the Arctic is potentially a resource for those types of minerals.”

Infrastructure

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) focused on the difficulty that his state, home to the Bakken Shale, had in moving hydrocarbons to market, given the hurdles that pipeline companies face in obtaining permits.

“We need pipelines,” Hoeven said. “We need LNG facilities. How do we get more infrastructure to get this to markets? How can you help us?”

Permits are granted by a different federal agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and state authorities, but Brouillette promised to use his department as an intermediary.

“I think one of the ways we can help is to work with the regulators, both at the state and the federal levels, to give them assistance as to the most efficient ways to place infrastructure,” he said. “We all support the development of additional pipeline capacity in the United States. We have worked very aggressively with our partners in places like the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, to let them know about the most critical concerns that we have, as the Department of Energy, for the placement of infrastructure.”

Brouillette pointed out that 20 years ago, a natural gas pipeline might have served two or three electric generation facilities. Today, it could serve as many as eight.

“If we can expand that and have a number of pipelines serving those seven or eight electric generation facilities, we not only allow gas to get to market,” he said, “we would reduce our cybersecurity risk with that type of development.”