Doug Burgum, former President Donald Trump's energy advisor and possible choice to be his running mate, is in a land deal with oil and gas giant Continental Resources.
Burgum has never been subjected to the kind of scrutiny that someone like Sen. Marco Rubio, Fla., has undergone, and from which Rubio has emerged politically intact. Burgum's spokesman Mike Nowatzki told CNBC the contract was drawn up years before the governor was sworn into office in CNBC obtained Burgum's personal financial disclosure by a request to the Federal Election Commission. His business records were acquired through the North Dakota secretary of state's office.
The Burgum Farm Partnership LLP, which oversees the family farm land in Williams County and Cass County, is worth between $500,001 and $1 million, according to the financial disclosure. "The Burgum Farm Partnership will receive 19% of the proceeds of the sales," said Edward Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston, in an email after reviewing the contract. "The greater benefit is that the Burgum Farm Partnership does not have to invest any money to drill the wells, collect the hydrocarbons ."The sun sets behind a pumpjack during a gusty night on March 24, 2024 in Fort Stockton, Texas.
"The up-front bonus payment is not disclosed," Kellog said."It's just listed as '$10 and more' where the 'more' is potentially significant. Bonuses are almost never disclosed in leases," Kellog said. Neither of Burgum's two financial disclosures from his successful runs for governor reveal a land deal with Continental Resources. North Dakota only requires candidates for state office to disclose the names of businesses that do not act as their principal source of income. No other details are required to be disclosed.
Burgum's federal disclosure report spans 26 pages and reveals scores of closely held LLCs, partnerships and assets. With a net worth easily in the hundreds of millions, the Continental lease forms only a small part of Burgum's income streams.Ultimately, it may not matter to Trump whether Burgum has been fully vetted, if the governor is the person he wants on his ticket.
"Nominating Burgum as VP would send a strong signal to the industry that we would have an important voice in a potential Trump administration," he added.U.S. President Donald Trump greets Harold Hamm after he was introduced by Hamm at the Shale Insight 2019 Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 23, 2019.