BISMARCK, N.D. — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke faced protests and a heckler Wednesday as he delivered a message of government cooperation at a large energy industry conference in North Dakota.

Zinke told the crowd at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck that government needs to be a better partner with the energy industry. His speech echoed one he gave at another major industry conference in Houston in March.

‘‘We have to work with industry,’’ he told the crowd at the three-day oil expo that drew an estimated 2,500 people to the city just outside western North Dakota’s prolific Bakken oil patch. ‘‘Our regulation needs to improve innovation, best science, best practices, in a regulatory framework that should ensure greater safety, greater reliability, and better environmental stewardship.’’

Alex Hilzendeger, 19, of Bismarck, stood up midway through Zinke’s speech and began shouting at him, accusing him of listening only to ‘‘fossil fuel billionaires and campaign donors’’ and asking why he doesn’t ‘‘stop methane waste.’’

The Trump administration is trying to reverse a rule imposed under former president Barack Obama requiring energy companies to capture methane gas instead of burning it or wasting it at drilling sites on public lands. A federal judge in Wyoming in April halted the rule, but environmentalists have appealed.

Trump’s energy policies have been widely criticized by conservation groups.

associated press