Harold G. Hamm, the billionaire oil and gas executive who helped bankroll Donald J. Trump’s campaign and stands to profit from his energy policies, is hosting an exclusive fossil fuel industry celebration on Inauguration Day.
The daytime party on the roof of the historic Hay-Adams Hotel, a block from the White House, will be a moment of triumph for Mr. Hamm, who poured more than $4.3 million into political action committees supporting Mr. Trump.
Mr. Hamm, the founder of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, has been influential in Mr. Trump’s plans to gut environmental protections and allow unfettered access by energy companies to federal land and waters. He also helped raise money from others in the oil and gas industry, which spent more than $75 million to help elect Mr. Trump.
Among the invited guests to Mr. Hamm’s celebration is Doug Burgum, Mr. Trump’s nominee to run the Interior department. Mr. Burgum’s term as governor of North Dakota ended last month and if he is confirmed, he would help determine the use of public land and federal waters. He is also Mr. Trump’s choice to run a government wide energy council. Mr. Burgum received an invitation to the celebration from Mr. Hamm’s executive assistant two weeks after Mr. Trump’s victory in the November election.
Rob Lockwood, an adviser to Mr. Burgum, said in a statement that Mr. Burgum would not attend Mr. Hamm’s party and would instead participate in “formal inauguration proceedings” on Jan. 20.
Top sponsors of the Jan. 20 event listed on the invitation include the Domestic Producers Energy Alliance, a lobbying group that Mr. Hamm founded to aggressively fight climate change policies, and Unleash Energy, a conservative group that includes many advisers to Mr. Trump.
“Enjoy a remarkable experience to commemorate this momentous occasion with panoramic views of the White House and a vibrant atmosphere of celebration,” read a typed note from Mr. Hamm to Mr. Burgum accompanying the invitation. “This will be a memorable gathering of friends, supporters, and special guests. We look forward to celebrating this pivotal moment with you!”
The documents were obtained by Fieldnotes, a research group that focuses on the oil and gas industry, through a public records request and were reviewed by The New York Times.
Campaign finance experts said the private event did not appear to violate ethics rules. Administration officials and nominees can join widely attended receptions so long as they only accept the same food and refreshments as offered to other guests.
But many also noted that few others than big donors can get the chance to privately chat up the people who will be influencing America’s energy policy over the next four years.
“This is an invite-only, high-dollar event for folks seeking access to the incoming Trump administration,” said Tyson Slocum, who directs the energy program at Public Citizen, a watchdog group.
Even if Trump officials do not attend, “You are basically getting the ear of the president,” Mr. Slocum said. “You have access to Harold Hamm, who is at the back shoulder of Donald Trump, dictating the priorities of the American oil and gas industry.”
Mr. Hamm and Continental Resources, the largest oil producer in North Dakota’s Bakken field, did not respond to requests for comment.
Others sharing the cost of Mr. Hamm’s party include Liberty Energy, the gas services company founded by Chris Wright, who is Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the Energy Department. Mr. Wright is expected to step down from the company when he is confirmed by the Senate.
Summit Agriculture Group, the parent company of Summit Carbon Solutions LLC, is also an event sponsor. Mr. Hamm is an investor in Summit Carbon Solutions, based in Iowa, which plans to build a $9 billion project to collect carbon emissions from ethanol plants in five states and send it by pipeline to North Dakota, where it would be buried underground. As governor, Mr. Burgum was a strong supporter of the project, which has run into opposition from landowners and local officials in several states.
Summit Agriculture Group is run by Bruce Rastetter, who has donated to Mr. Trump and the Republican Party for years. Other sponsors include Devon Energy, an Oklahoma oil company with a long history of fighting climate regulation. Summit Agriculture Group and Devon Energy did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s main lobbying group, is also a sponsor.
“API regularly sponsors events with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to educate on the critical role of American energy in powering our economy and strengthening national security,” Andrea Woods, a spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement.
During the 2024 campaign Mr. Trump asked oil and gas executives to raise $1 billion for his White House bid. At a dinner in April at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Mr. Trump promised about 20 oil and gas executives that they would save far more than that amount in avoided taxes and legal fees after he repealed environmental regulations, according to several people who were present and who requested anonymity to discuss a private event.
The fossil fuel industry has reveled in Mr. Trump’s victory. Mr. Trump has promised a swift elimination of President Biden’s limits on pollution from automobile tailpipes, power plant smokestacks and oil and gas wells. He also pledged to boost American liquefied natural gas exports — which are already at record levels — and said he would allow drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and waive environmental regulations for companies that invest at least $1 billion in the United States.
The United States is currently producing more oil than any nation in history, and is the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas. Still, the oil and gas industry is glad to see the Biden administration go, said Thomas J. Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, which supports fossil fuel energy development.
“They’ve been hostile to domestic oil and gas production from day one, right up to the very end, and President Trump has made it clear that he sees the important role that this industry plays,” Mr. Pyle said.
