BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — When North Dakota's petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event — at the governor's mansion.
And when energy industry lobbyists were looking for help taking on Biden administration greenhouse gas rules, they also turned to Burgum. In an email to Burgum's office seeking the legal heft the state could provide, an industry lobbyist argued that “combating” such regulations required “a one-two punch" from industry and government.
While it is not surprising that the governor of the third-largest oil producing state would have a close relationship with fossil fuel producers, records obtained by the Associated Press reveal Burgum's administration eagerly assisted the industry even as the governor was profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies. And his assistance came at a time when Burgum was leaning on those very connections to build his national profile in the Republican Party.
If confirmed to run the Interior Department — as soon as Thursday — Burgum will have vast control over federal lands, including the issuance of oil and gas leases, as well as a mandate from Trump to extract such resources even though the U.S. is producing record amounts of fossil fuels.
Those ties concern Democrats and environmentalists who say his zeal to expand drilling was “troubling.”
“Are you going to protect our resources, or are you going to ‘drill, baby, drill?’” Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, asked during Burgum's confirmation hearing this month.
The selection of Burgum, who briefly pursued the presidency in 2023 before endorsing Trump, represents an abrupt pivot from Biden's emphasis on combating climate change. It also signals that Trump intends to follow through on a proposal made last spring when he urged oil and gas CEOs to donate $1 billion to his campaign in exchange for the dismantling of Biden's environmental agenda.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman for Burgum declined to make him available for an interview.
“Governor Burgum worked tirelessly to build a prosperous economy in North Dakota," spokesman Rob Lockwood said in a statement. "This economic growth included sustainably developing natural resources. As governor, he met with job creators and leaders who generated opportunities for the people of North Dakota.”
Under the partisan glare of Washington, and faced with stricter federal ethics rules governing conflicts of interest, Burgum has pledged to sell his interest in his family’s lease with the shale oil giant Continental Resources, as well as another one with Hess, a Chevron subsidiary. He has also pledged to sell stock held in a handful of energy companies, some of which he interacted with as governor, which are worth as much as $200,000 according to his 2023 financial disclosures.
Close ties to an industry titan
There is perhaps no better demonstration of Burgum’s close ties to oil and gas producers than his friendship with Hamm, who is responsible for much of North Dakota’s fracking boom. The billionaire Oklahoma wildcatter advises Trump on energy policy and is widely viewed as playing a role in helping Burgum secure the nomination to lead Interior.
Hamm did not respond to a request for comment made through his company.
During his 2023 state-of-the-state speech, Burgum likened Hamm to Teddy Roosevelt for his "grit, resilience, hard work and determination" that he said “changed North Dakota and our nation.” The shout-out came after Hamm had donated $50 million toward a library honoring Roosevelt in western North Dakota — a passion project of Burgum's.
The documents obtained by AP reveal that several months later Hamm gifted Burgum a set of cuff links along with a note thanking Burgum for his “friendship" and willingness to take a break from the “grueling task” of running for president to speak at an energy conference that Hamm had hosted in Oklahoma City.
These were not his only displays of patronage. Though Burgum, an independently wealthy former software company CEO, had a dim chance of winning the Republican presidential primary, Hamm's Continental Resources contributed $250,000 in the summer of 2023 to a super PAC supporting Burgum, campaign finance disclosures show. He also contributed to Burgum's campaign for governor.
Emails between Burgum and Hamm's offices reveal the two communicated often.
In a May 2020 email, Hamm's executive assistant asked if Burgum had time to talk with Hamm and shared a briefing document that railed against wind power, blasting wind turbines as a blight on “our special places and sacred lands” while excoriating tax breaks for wind energy providers as "unconscionable."
“This does NOTHING to Make America Great Again!” the document states.
Though Burgum set a goal in 2021 to make North Dakota carbon neutral by 2030, he has adopted Hamm's tone. During his Senate confirmation hearing this month, he was dismissive of renewable energy, such as wind power, suggesting such sources were unreliable when compared to fossil fuels.
In early 2023, as Hamm prepared to publish a memoir, Continental lobbyist Blu Hulsey emailed to ask if Burgum could write a blurb praising the book, the newly obtained records show. Burgum happily complied, heaping praise on the memoir, which the governor called “an inspiring story worthy of sharing.” Burgum added that Hamm's impact was "immeasurable.”
Ethics experts say there are other aspects of their relationship that pose a greater conflict of interest. As governor, Burgum never disclosed that his family leased roughly 200 acres of farmland to Continental for well drilling, as previously reported by CNBC. When Burgum ran for president and faced greater transparency requirements, he revealed making $50,000 in royalties from Continental in 2023.
Despite this relationship, Burgum routinely took action that benefited Hamm's company. As chairman of North Dakota's Industrial Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, he voted nearly a dozen times or more on measures that had favorable outcomes for Continental, records show.
“North Dakota is a leading energy producing state," Lockwood, the Burgum spokesman said. "Tens of thousands of families and mineral owners have similar arrangements. As the publicly available disclosures show: the cited agreement began many years before he became governor.”
Burgum also used the governor's office to support a proposed pipeline that received $250 million in financial backing from Hamm. If completed, it will transport earth-warming CO2 gas that is the byproduct of ethanol fuel production to North Dakota, where it will be stored deep underground. It’s been touted as a way to decarbonize the atmosphere, but has also run into stiff resistance from landowners, who fear their property will be seized to complete the project.
Sarah Vogel, a Democrat and former North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner who previously sat on the commission, said Burgum seemed more like a cheerleader of the industry than a regulator.
“I don’t think he had a regulator’s mindset. He had a promoter’s mindset, which has probably made him beloved in the oil and gas industry,” Vogel said.
Other executives have ties to Burgum
Hamm is not the only oil executive or lobbyist who has cultivated ties with Burgum, emails and office schedules show. Ryan Berger, a lobbyist for Occidental Petroleum, emailed Burgum's staff last year seeking a meeting for Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub after Burgum moderated a panel she participated in at an oil industry conference.
“In an ideal world, a face-to-face over lunch or dinner would be amazing,” Berger wrote in a May 2024 email. He added that Hollub had recently discussed energy issues “directly with President Trump” and “we thought you would benefit from hearing from her” to see “if there are mutually shared policies and perspectives that could be amplified this year.”
Berger declined to comment on the email. Lockwood, the spokesman, declined to say if Burgum a meeting with Hollub happened.
The records revealed that a Who's Who of oil executives had calls scheduled with Burgum. The include: CEOs of Chevron and Exxon; Marathon Oil officials had an audience with Burgum in 2022; and the governor also spoke before the Hess Corporation's board of directors' dinner. Burgum's family also has an oil lease with Hess that paid him as much as $1,000, according to his financial disclosure.
Burgum turned down an invitation to address an American Petroleum Institute convention in Washington, the records show, but agreed to speak at a private dinner for the American Exploration and Production Council in 2023, which drew top executives from Conoco Phillips, Devon Energy, Hilcorp and others.
When Burgum was a leading contender last year to be Trump's vice presidential pick, he co-hosted a banquet at the governor's mansion with the North Dakota Petroleum Council that drew fracking industry heavy hitters, lobbyists and executives. Burgum, Hamm and Chris Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy who is now Trump's pick for energy secretary, addressed attendees as they dined on beef, walleye cakes and bourbon caramel-topped cobbler.
On Inauguration Day, Burgum declined an invitation to attend a party at the posh Hay-Adams Hotel that was hosted by Hamm and a number of petroleum trade associations and oil companies.
Burgum’s presence may not have been missed. Many of those executives and lobbyists, who will have business before the Interior Department, can reach him.
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Slodysko reported from Washington.
Brian Slodysko And Jack Dura, The Associated Press
