The leaders of three big U.S. oil companies will host a fundraising luncheon in Houston on Wednesday benefiting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to a copy of an invitation seen by Reuters.
Drillers tend to back Trump’s pro-fossil fuel and anti-regulation agenda and have been critical of President Joe Biden’s efforts to phase out oil and gas in favor of renewables.
The luncheon, which will be held at Houston’s Post Oak Hotel, is hosted by Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources; Kelcy Warren, executive chairman of Energy Transfer Partners; and Vicki Hollub, CEO of Occidental Petroleum, according to the invitation.
Trump is scheduled to speak.
Asked about the luncheon, Hollub told Reuters she is speaking with policymakers from both parties to express Occidental’s support for federal subsidies for carbon capture technologies that can keep greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Carbon capture is expensive and has yet to be proven commercially at scale. Some environmental groups oppose it, arguing it risks extending the fossil fuel era. Biden expanded carbon capture subsidies in his 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, part of a suite of measures to fight climate change.
Occidental has invested in carbon capture projects that siphon carbon out of smokestacks, and last year announced plans to build the world’s largest direct air capture facility to suck carbon out of the open air.
Officials for Continental and Energy Transfer Partners did not provide comment on the luncheon.
Hamm and Warren are longtime supporters of Trump, having backed his previous presidential bids. Hamm served as an informal adviser to Trump during his 2017-2020 term at the White House.
Trump last month had met with other oil executives at his luxury Mar-a-Lago hotel in Florida and asked the industry for $1 billion to support his current run for president, according to media reports.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Valerie Volcovici; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by David Gregorio)
