Kirk Oliver

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Equitrans Mid

Search every verified Kirk Oliver interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a September 2023 interview, Equitrans Midstream CEO Thomas Karam discussed the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline following the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Karam stated that the company was "grateful to be included" in the legislation but said that "it should not take an act of Congress to construct infrastructure in this country that's necessary for energy security and reliability." He described the process of making the company's case to elected officials beginning in early 2022 after a court vacated a biological opinion, and credited Senator Joe Manchin with "pick[ing] up the mantle" to propose permitting reform. Karam said that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm's public letter deeming the pipeline to be in the national security interest was a "watershed event" that allowed bipartisan support for the project. He expressed hope that the momentum from the Fiscal Responsibility Act would lead to comprehensive permitting reform, arguing that without it, the U.S. would not be able to construct the infrastructure needed to meet projected increases in natural gas and electricity demand over the next 25 years.