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Kinder Morgan CEO Rich Kinder on the benefits of natural gas and the state of the U.S. economy.
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Is there a better outcome one way or the other in this election for business.
Well I think you know I'm not in political game I would last two minutes.
They throw me out but.
I think the key thing from from my perspective anyway is.
We need to have a level playing field we need to have.
In the energy field for example we have just tremendous opportunities particularly in the natural gas here we've got to.
-- game changer here we've got fuel that's it cheap abundant domestic.
Plentiful.
We ought to just be doing everything we can and to export that.
Your target or fracking for natural gas up to about that put -- in Joanna -- shale plays which of course.
Or predicated to large extent on fracking but the opportunities for natural gas you wanna talk about.
Response to climate change and reducing CO2 emissions this is the golden.
Key to open the door.
Much more than than most renewable celebrity because you can move in the -- -- with natural gas in the five or ten year period.
You can solve a great deal of the emissions issues in this country.
But do you feel like -- -- coming down in a certain extent from a regulatory point of view on natural gas especially when you talk about shale or fracking are you concerned about that and America's energy independence as a result well I'm concerned.
About regulation in general I think we have over regulation protected federal level -- -- everybody in his right mind wants to see any things done this business we've done the safe and environmentally respectful.
-- But I am really confident and then we're pipeline terminal company not an upstream oil and gas got leave it.
I don't think I know enough about it that I'm very confident that the fracking is safe.
You've got to make sure that your carrying -- -- drilling program correctly that the casing on the wells is appropriate but.
I think it in the third party independent examination fracking will show that it's a very safe way of producing natural gas and oil.
Now an eight easing you don't get into politics and -- -- you don't have a political action committee your company does not -- mortgage you don't make political contributions.
Do you feel like one side or the other that supports your view on on fracking -- natural gas or are you worried about a return of the Obama administration in the next election.
Well I think you'd have to say that so far if you just look at what the two candidates -- this balanced.
What Romney is.
To media mix -- for the energy business and that is that we ought to have less regulation.
We ought to have -- level playing field.
We're not asking -- subsidies.
In my into the business anyway and and we'd like to see just a level playing field and we like to see natural gas develop to its fullest extent.
Before I let you -- I don't see you do a lot of interviews on TV and I hadn't heard this before that -- the chairman and CEO you receive morningstar's senior year work because you received just dollar in salary per year.
No bonuses no stock options no restricted stock you do own 24%.
-- your company's stock and obviously.
We just heard your loaded you know because you moved up on the on the Forbes list the -- -- CEOs should take that approach where you're just you're stockholder.
Well I think the reason that we did this almost fifty years ago we started this work for a dollar year.
Is that I think anytime you can align the interest of -- shareholders with your senior management that makes a lot of sense.
Not everybody will found the company not everybody can I don't think you expected ratio to work for a dollar year.
But I do think the war that you can -- CEO and senior management with the interest of the shareholder and I don't think anybody objects to paying CEOs.
Our CEOs are good dollars in the company's success -- what they object to is -- baggage of the company does doesn't do well.
And the senior management still does well and that's that's -- happening in the morning.
And part of your company is a master limited partnership which is under assault to a certain extent in this fight over who pays what taxes do you feel like.
There's a threat there.
You know I don't really think so.
We'll see what happens post election but I think everybody recognizes it.
Smashing them partnerships pay taxes just their shareholders pay the tax -- instead of the corporate in the -- -- and that.
The I think the market cap today.
And -- pieces.
The 300 billion dollars or so it's.
A sizable part of our economy in the midstream energy this.
Richard Kantor thank you so much for -- on -- originally -- keystone and right I am absolutely.
