US Energy Secretary Rick Perry expected to announce resignation next month: Politico

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - United States Energy Secretary Rick Perry is expected to announce his resignation in November, Politico reported on Thursday (Oct 4), citing three unidentified people familiar with his plans.

A spokeswoman for the Energy Department said Mr Perry remains a "proud member" of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, in a statement that stopped short of denying the Politico report.

"While the beltway media has breathlessly reported on rumours of Secretary Perry's departure for months, he is still the Secretary of Energy," spokesman Shaylyn Haynes said in a statement. "One day the media will be right. Today is not that day."

While Mr Perry's contacts with Ukraine have drawn him into the impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump by House of Representatives Democrats, the three people said his expected departure was not related to the Ukraine controversy, Politico reported.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the impeachment investigation last week after a whistle-blower lodged a complaint about Mr Trump asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into investigating former vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The complaint mentioned Mr Perry, who led a small US delegation to Mr Zelensky's inauguration in May, replacing Vice-President Mike Pence.

Mr Perry has been free of ethics investigations that have weighed on other Trump officials, forcing a number of them, such as former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt, to leave the Republican administration.

Mr Perry, who was the longest-serving governor of oil-producing Texas, has worked to advance Mr Trump's "energy dominance" agenda on maximising production of fossil fuels.

He has been a frequent visitor to Europe, promoting what he calls "freedom gas" or shipments of US liquefied natural gas, to provide Poland, Lithuania and other countries as an alternative to Russian gas.

Mr Perry often met Mr Khalid al-Falih, a friend and fellow alumnus of Texas A&M University, who was until early September the energy minister of the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.

Mr Perry held talks with Mr al-Falih about Saudi Arabia's plans to build its first two commercial nuclear power plants, urging the kingdom to use US nuclear technology, rather than Chinese or Russian technology.

Saudi Arabia has resisted agreeing to non-proliferation standards, but Mr Perry said he told officials there that it was important for the kingdom to be perceived by the world as strong on non-proliferation.

Mr Perry has so far failed to save US nuclear energy and coal plants from a rash of closures due to competition from natural gas, solar and wind power.

Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, who has attended several international energy meetings in recent months, is widely expected by energy experts to replace Mr Perry.