Drill Baby Drill, the International Edition.

From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Beneshore in New York.

First up, President Trump's nominee to head the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh,

will be on Capitol Hill this morning for a nomination hearing.

The Federal Reserve is the country's central bank and controls key interest rates in the economy.

Marketplace, Nancy Marshall

Gensar has more. Warsh will walk a fine line with his testimony today, asserting that he

believes in the independence of the Federal Reserve, but also keeping in mind that President

Trump has made it clear he expects lower interest rates. In his opening statement, Warsh says

Fed independence is largely up to the Fed, and inflation is a choice,

and the Fed must take responsibility for it. But Warsh also says he doesn't think the, quote,

operational independence of monetary policy is particularly threatened when elected officials,

like the president, state their views on interest rates. Worst makes it clear he

thinks the Fed should stay in its lane and not stray into fiscal and social policies where it has

neither authority nor expertise. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace. Between the stranded

chips, the damaged refineries, and the blocked up supply chains, energy companies

are thinking maybe it would be a good idea to look somewhere other than the Middle East

to drill for more oil. ExxonMobil is spending $1.5 billion on deep water operations in Nigeria.

Chevron is expanding operations in Venezuela. Marketplaces Christian Schwab reports.

Political instability, especially since the oil crises of the 1970s, has long-incentivized

companies to diversify their oil supply. Robelo-Samuel is an oil and gas consultant.

Politics is never a straight line. It is always nonlinear. It is always a problem.

...