Burgum touts AI data centers, calls Iran war ‘gift to the world’ in speech to oil industry

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised artificial intelligence, energy dominance and oil industry innovation in a winding speech to the oil and gas industry in Bismarck on Thursday.

While Burgum’s speech focused on domestic energy production, he also defended the Trump administration’s war in Iran and the “detour” it has taken. He said Iran’s government is a terrorist group that has led a “tyrannical reign” over its own citizens for decades, and the United States is the only country capable of taking action.

“It’s a gift to the world,” Burgum said.

Domestically, the former governor of North Dakota doubled down on artificial intelligence and data centers as both a driver of energy demand for the oil industry and a tool for the public.

“What is AI going to do for me? Well, how about cure cancer?” Burgum said to attendees of the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

Burgum said the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has fed pancreas scans from patients into an AI tool, which identified subtle signs of pancreas cancer before tumors become visible, which will help diagnose the cancer at an earlier stage.

Data centers were a popular topic during the three-day gathering of 2,600 people. Multiple speakers extolled the value of the projects to local communities, bringing jobs and economic activity to an area, while also acknowledging the public has concerns about the facilities.

“Concerns about water are real, concerns about power needs are real, and who’s going to pay for it,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association. “We’re getting some real kickback right now. The business community really needs to step up and be a part of that conversation.”

Burgum, who prefers to refer to data centers as “manufacturing intelligence,” dismissed many of those concerns. He said water use is a “red herring,” that data centers will lower the cost of electricity for consumers and that the facilities could be the “greatest thing” for the coal and natural gas industries in the state.

“Turn the gas into electricity, turn it into intelligence. Ship the product out of North Dakota by a fiber optic cable,” Burgum said. “And guess what? No one has figured out how to protest a fiber optic cable yet. So that’s good news for those of you that are used to fighting protests here.”

Gov. Kelly Armstrong speaks during the 2026 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck on May 20, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Burgum’s successor, said in an interview a lot of the anger about artificial intelligence and data centers is being driven by misinformation. He said companies and elected officials have to do a better job of talking to people, getting the facts out there and ensuring the project has buy-in from the community that will be hosting it.

“AI and the power that is coming, is coming, and it is going to be deployed, and we have to do it responsibly, but we also have to do it factually. There’s a lot of anger about AI, a lot of that is driven by incorrect information that exists on this,” Armstrong said. “My response to everybody is, go sit down and talk with the locals.”

Burgum also touted the Trump administration’s work on “energy dominance” and a focus on baseload forms of power, like natural gas and coal, rather than renewable energy sources like wind and solar. He criticized the global shift toward renewable energy and called that transition away from fossil fuels an “energy subtraction.”

“This is a nation that needs energy addition. We need energy addition for our own industries, and for our own companies, and for our own prosperity, and for our own affordability,” Burgum said.

Burgum’s approach to renewable energy has transitioned away from the “all-of-the-above” energy policy he advocated while governor of North Dakota. Burgum had previously declared a goal of making North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030.

“North Dakota is going to solve these problems for innovation, not through regulation,” Burgum said during the conference. “American greatness has always been built around innovation.”

The Department of the Interior did not respond to emails attempting to schedule an interview with Burgum while he was at the conference.

Burgum said the president is using energy policy to drive the administration’s stated goal of energy dominance. He pushed back on claims the administration is biased against some forms of renewable energy.

“Some people have said that this administration is ideological,” Burgum said. “No, we are not ideological. We’re for affordable, we’re for reliable, we’re for secure.”

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was approximately $102 per barrel during that portion of Burgum’s remarks. The price has nearly doubled in five months, in large part due to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime bottleneck in the Middle East, following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on the country beginning on Feb. 28.

“The United States has got the lowest energy prices than anybody in the world right now,” Burgum said.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge can be reached at jorledge@northdakotamonitor.com.