BISMARCK — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum delivered a speech to the oil and gas industry in Bismarck on May 21, promoting energy dominance, defending fossil fuels, and advocating for artificial intelligence-driven innovation in energy production. He criticized the global shift toward renewable energy, calling the transition away from fossil fuels an "energy subtraction."

Burgum said the United States needs an "energy addition" to support domestic industries, companies, prosperity, and affordability. "This is a nation that needs energy addition. We need energy addition for our own industries, and for our own companies, and for our own prosperity, and for our own affordability," he said. He added that the current administration’s energy policy is not ideological but focused on affordability, reliability, and security. "Some people have said that this administration is ideological. No, we are not ideological. We’re for affordable, we’re for reliable, we’re for secure," he said.

He praised artificial intelligence as a tool for innovation beyond energy, stating it could help cure cancer. Burgum cited the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota as using an AI tool to detect early signs of pancreatic cancer before tumors become visible. He described data centers as "manufacturing intelligence" and claimed they would lower electricity costs for consumers while benefiting North Dakota’s coal and natural gas sectors. "Turn the gas into electricity, turn it into intelligence. Ship the product out of North Dakota by a fiber optic cable. And guess what? No one has figured out how to protest a fiber optic cable yet. So that’s good news for those of you that are used to fighting protests here," Burgum said. He dismissed concerns about water use by data centers as a "red herring" and asserted that North Dakota would address energy challenges through innovation, not regulation.

Burgum also referenced foreign policy, describing the Trump administration’s conflict with Iran as a "detour" and labeling Iran’s government a terrorist group responsible for a "tyrannical reign" over its citizens. He claimed the U.S. currently has "the lowest energy prices than anybody in the world right now."

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, who also spoke at the event, said public anger toward AI and data centers stems from misinformation. "AI and the power that is coming, is coming, and it is going to be deployed, and we have to do it responsibly, but we also have to do it factually. There’s a lot of anger about AI, a lot of that is driven by incorrect information that exists on this," Armstrong said. He urged critics to engage with local communities directly.