Bodman spent his career as a chemical engineering professor, Fidelity Investments executive and as chairman of Cabot Corp., a specialty chemical company that makes colored ink for printers and carbon black for tires.

Bodman, 66, was tapped by the Bush administration for senior jobs with the Commerce and Treasury Departments during the past four years.

Industry analysts and lobbyists said Bodman's selection virtually guaranteed that Vice President Dick Cheney, the former chairman of oilfield services giant Halliburton, would keep his tight grip on energy policy.

Bodman rarely drew public attention at his jobs in the Treasury and Commerce Departments. He will likely keep a low profile at the Energy Department, too, said James Lucier, a Washington analyst with Prudential Equity Group.

Cheney's office produced the administration's broad 2001 energy proposal and "has really been driving the train on energy policy far more than anyone else," Lucier said.

"There is no doubt whatsoever that (Cheney) sets the broad direction and is keeping an eye on these agencies to make sure they follow their checklists," Lucier added.

The White House has repeatedly denied that Cheney directs US energy policy.

Bodman will have a limited role in high-profile issues such as persuading Congress to pass stalled energy legislation that would open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to drilling, the experts said. Democratic and moderate Republican senators oppose the plan, as do environmental groups.

"I'm not sure he can be any more successful," in persuading the Senate to approve drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, said Rick Mueller, an analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc.

Morris Burns, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association in Texas, said he was surprised the White House chose a nominee unknown to the industry.

"I am glad to see he (Bodman) has worked in the private sector, so he's not a lifelong bureaucrat," Burns said. He expressed hope that Bodman would assist the White House in persuading Congress to pass an energy bill in 2005.

It remains to be seen whether Bodman, who has some experience with international trade issues, will be given a major role in dealing with OPEC nations. The United States imports more than half of the oil it consumes.

But the new secretary may try to tweak existing regulations to help make it easier for US companies to drill for oil and build new power plants and refineries, Lucier said.

Bodman will oversee ongoing Energy Department initiatives aimed at promoting new nuclear power plant construction, cleaning up coal-burning generation plants, and inventing new hydrogen-powered cars and power plants that do not emit heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

"The choice of Bodman is a signal that they want to continue using the Energy Department as more of a long-term transformation change agent than a high-profile position," Lucier said.

OIL AND NUCLEAR ISSUES

Some of the issues facing the Energy Department over the next few months include:

* Winning congressional approval for the Bush administration plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alaska to oil drilling.

* Working with Congress on a broad energy bill with incentives to boost domestic oil, natural gas, nuclear power, coal and renewable energy sources.

* Filling the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its capacity of 700 million barrels of crude oil.

* Improving the reliability of the nation's electric grid to prevent blackouts.

* Providing incentives for US utilities to build cleaner- burning coal plants to generate electricity.

* Accelerating the clean-up of former US nuclear weapons sites.

* Recovering spent nuclear fuel from other nations to help keep the material out of the hands of terrorists.

* Providing nuclear non-proliferation technical leadership to prevent the spread of materials and technology for weapons of mass destruction.

* Preparing a permanent, long-term storage site for US nuclear power plant waste under Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert.

* Supporting US industry efforts to build first new nuclear power plant since the Three Mile Island plant accident more than two decades ago.