Venture capitalist Peter Thiel, a Donald Trump backer and top Silicon Valley confidante, spent about 45 minutes chatting onstage with energy analyst Dan Yergin at a glitzy dinner last night in Houston. Their talk roamed all over the place, but here are some takeaways:
"It would be good for the U.S. to stay in the climate agreement," ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance told reporters as he walked offstage at the big CERAWeek industry conference in Houston.
Why it matters: The Trump administration still hasn't said what it's going to do about U.S. involvement in the 2015 Paris climate accord. ConocoPhillips joins a number of other major energy companies, including Exxon Mobil, in backing the agreement.
Lance also said Trump's policies on deregulation and infrastructure approvals will be good for the oil-and-gas industry. He warned against a border adjustment tax that could hurt retailers and said Congress needs to find the "right balance" on a tax that wouldn't benefit either side too much.
Peter Thiel will be giving the dinner address tonight at CERAWeek, the major conference on energy. Thiel's own views on energy have been a little tough to pinpoint. He's funded clean energy ventures but dissed the sector too. He's expressed skepticism about the scientific consensus on global warming while pushing advanced new nuclear reactor technologies as the best weapon against climate change.
Today's lineup: Saudi Arabian energy minister Khalid A. Al-Falih, BP CEO Robert Dudley, ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance, Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, José Antonio González Anaya, the CEO of Mexican state oil giant PEMEX and Iraqi oil minister Jabar Ali Hussein Al-Luiebi.
