Bloomberg Businessweek (North America)
How would you assess Obama’s administration in terms of energy, the environment, trade?
They’re rushing out regulations as we speak, in their final six months. Just in the last couple of weeks, they’ve done some—a well control rule in the Gulf of Mexico. Our industry has put in place a hundred new practices in collaboration with the government since the Macondo incident to improve drilling safety. And yet, with very little engagement with industry, they rushed out new provisions. Also, methane regulations. The cost of these methane regulations is disproportionate to the benefits, at any reasonable price on carbon. Those are just two recent examples. In general, I would say the power has shifted toward regulators in this country. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re seeing subpar economic growth. I think it’s a burden.