Energy Secretary Dismisses ‘Fiction’ About Energy Shortages

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright called the American conflict with Iran “a disruption” on the path to lower energy costs on “Fox News Sunday.”

Tankers stopped transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway which separates the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, after Iran launched missile and drone strikes in retaliation for those of the United States and Israel since just over a week earlier. Wright told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream an oil tanker had passed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident.

“The plan is to get oil and natural gas and fertilizer and all the products from the Gulf flowing through the straits before too long, and I may break a little news here, but one large tanker has already gone through the straits with no issues at all,” Wright said. “So, as the general just described, we’re massively treating their ability to strike with missiles and drones and that rate of attrition will increase in the coming days. So we’ll be cautious, we’ll be careful, but energy will flow soon.”

Oil prices climbed since President Donald Trump announced the United States military and Israel Defense Forces began operations in Iran in a video posted on Truth Social early Feb. 28. WTI Futures Crude Oil closed Friday at $90.90, up over $20 from the market’s Feb. 27 close, the day before the strikes, according to Investing.com.

“All right, I want to get your take on something that Politico is reporting,” Bream said. “It says Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other advisers focused on energy policy are ‘getting screamed at to find some good news on bringing down prices,’ quote, ‘folks are scrambling for announcements and messaging to counter the narrative of these rising prices.’ Fact or fiction? What can you tell us on how this is playing inside the White House?”

“Oh, it’s fiction. It’s right along the line. I’ve read about a dozen fiction pieces from Politico and other news things about just stuff totally made up, whole cloth. We’ve been planning and talking about this, you know, for quite some time,” Wright responded. “Energy markets are massively well supplied right now. In fact, the run up in prices. Nothing to do with any shortage of barrels of oil or natural gas. It’s just fear and perception, the unknown, that this could be some long drawn-out crisis, but it won’t be, as you heard from the general.”

“Progress is going very fast,” Wright told Bream. “The world is abundantly supplied with energy thanks to President Trump’s energy dominance agenda. The United States is a net-exporter of oil, net exporter of natural gas. We’re in contact with our allies. This is a disruption on the way to a much better place to end a 47-year war against America.”

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org