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WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump'snominee for the top U.S. State Department job dealing withmatters related to energy and the global oil industry wasapproved by a Senate committee on Wednesday, as the UnitedStates gears up to re-impose sanctions on Iran's oil exports.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved FrancisFannon, a former head of corporate affairs at mining company BHPBilliton and senior director of Murphy Oil Corp, to head the department's energy bureau.
If Fannon is confirmed in a vote by the full Senate, one ofhis most immediate tasks as assistant secretary of state wouldbe synthesizing reports from intelligence agencies with oilindustry data to re-implement sanctions on Iran's oil exports.
Trump announced on May 8 he was withdrawing the UnitedStates from the 2015 Iran deal, which removed sanctions inexchange for the Islamic Republic curbing its nuclear program.
Fannon was approved by 19 of the 21 members of the panelwith two Democratic senators opposing him. One of the Democrats,Senator Bob Menendez, said Fannon had lobbied againstcomprehensive climate change legislation and against limits ondrilling in the Gulf of Mexico put in place after BP's 2010Deepwater Horizon disaster, that killed 11 platform workers."Energy security rests in energy diversification, innovation,and development of zero and low carbon energy sources," Menendezsaid at the hearing. "The appointment of an oil and gas lobbyistto this position demonstrates a backwards outlook on energypolicy."
Before working in corporations, Fannon served as counsel tothe Senate environment committee and as an aide to twoRepublican senators.
In a hearing before the panel's vote, Fannon said that hehad drafted provisions of the 2005 energy bill that helpedunleash innovation and set the conditions for U.S. energyabundance today.(Reporting by Timothy GardnerEditing by Tom Brown)
