Former Texas governor Rick Perry has exited his seat on the board of directors at Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) less than a month after being tapped to lead the U.S. Department of Energy.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ETP said that Perry resigned from the boards of Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C, Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P. and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P.
Perry’s resignations were effective as of December 31.
“Mr. Perry’s decision to resign from the board of ETP LLC was not due to any disagreement with the Partnership, the General Partner or ETP LLC relating to the operations, practices or policies of the Partnership,” ETP said in the filing.
Perry, 66, served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force and graduated from Texas A & M University.
The Department of Energy is responsible for research and policy work related to energy production and nuclear materials.
The department is also responsible for designing, testing and producing nuclear weapons.
Trump cited Perry’s leadership of oil-rich Texas as a key factor behind his nomination.
“Rick Perry created … a business climate that produced millions of new jobs and lower energy prices in his state, and he will bring that same approach to our entire country as secretary of energy,” Trump said in a statement seen by CNBC.
Perry has questioned the science on global warming and the impact that human activity has on the world’s climate.
According to a transcript seen by the Washington Post, Perry said during a 2011 Republican primary debate that the science on global warming is “not settled.”
Perry also called for the Department of Energy to be shut down during his 2011 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Energy Transfer Partners is the operator of the 470,000 barrel per day Dakota Access Pipeline.
Last month, the U.S. Department of the Army declined to grant an easement that would allow the Dakota Access line to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota.
The pipeline’s route under the lake has drawn protests from Native American and environmentalist groups who say they are concerned about impacts on water quality.
Lake Oahe is located near the border between North Dakota and South Dakota.
The Army’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy said in December that alternative routes for the pipeline will likely be explored through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis.
ETP and Sunoco Logistics Partners (SXL) called the Army’s decision the latest in a “series of overt and transparent political actions” undertaken by the Obama administration.
SXL agreed last month to acquire ETP in a unit-for-unit transaction worth over $20 billion.
The companies added that they remain “fully committed” the completing the project and fully expect to complete construction “without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe.”
“Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way,” the companies added.
