Reports that President Obama may shake up his energy cabinet are making the rounds in Washington, DC, but it’s unlikely there will be any major change in energy policy if this occurs.

“We’ve heard various rumors about existing cabinet secretaries leaving, but I don’t think anything is final until a resignation is announced,” said Cathy Landry, a spokeswoman for the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, which represents interstate gas pipelines.

Even if there are major departures, “it’s unlikely to influence policy in any major way. The president/White House sets the overall agenda for an agency. Sure, there may be differences in the way a department is managed or even how a regulatory issue is handled, but the general policy still is set in coordination with the policies laid out by the president and his senior staff,” she said.

Those said to be most likely to leave soon are Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, according to published reports.

Former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) or perhaps retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) might be on the short list to replace Chu, The Washington Post reported. Ernie Moniz, director of energy initiatives at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an Obama energy adviser, might also be considered.

Chu proved to be an embarrassment to the Obama administration when the Department of Energy approved a loan guarantee of $535 million for Solyndra, a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic systems, months prior to the company announcing in October that it was filing for bankruptcy.

The EPA run by Jackson has been a thorn in the side of oil and natural gas interests. This year, the agency was forced to withdraw orders against three producers for alleged groundwater contamination after the EPA had erred in its investigations (see Daily GPI, April 4). The agency also issued a final rule this year aimed at eliminating air pollution from oil and natural gas production facilities with compliance extended until 2015. But the EPA’s estimates of air emissions from oil and gas are widely disputed by industry.

Jackson’s successors could be current deputy EPA administrator Robert Perciasepe; current top EPA air pollution official Gina McCarthy; or Clinton White House aide Ian Bowles, who ran the energy and environmental department in Massachusetts, The New Jersey Star Ledger reported.

When asked if Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar planned to stay for Obama’s second term, Interior spokesman Blake Androff told NGI, “The secretary remains focused on the job at hand, implementing the president’s vision for energy security in the United States.” Like Jackson, he has taken steps that have blocked development, such as limiting permitting and access to public lands for oil and gas production (see Daily GPI, June 29).

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