Energy secretary says US and partners kept Strait of Hormuz open after recent attack

Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy, said that U.S. measures and partner actions have kept commercial traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz despite a recent attack on a vessel.

"We did have there's a hole in one ship. No damage to humans. The ships continued to transit," Wright said, and added that about 72 ships transited the strait and roughly 14 million barrels of crude passed through in the previous 24 hours. He also told host Ross that roughly 20 million barrels had transited two days earlier and that pipeline flows from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates added the equivalent of about 6 million barrels to recent totals, a combination he said put exports near recent averages.

Wright attributed the continued flows to a combination of military escorts, producer actions and coordinated reserve releases, saying the International Energy Agency and some producers acted to prevent a supply shock. "We coordinated with 32 other nations in the International Energy Agency to agree to release 400 million barrels of crude," Wright said, describing the coordinated release as a key buffer.

Wright also credited pre-positioned crude and producer decisions. "Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ... moved 100 million barrels of oil outside of the strait before the conflict with Iran started," he said, and described that pre-staging in Asia as an important buffer against immediate shortages.

On prior strategic sales, Wright criticized an earlier U.S. release, saying, "Biden sold 200 million barrels, not during an interruption of flow, [but] a fear of an interruption of flow when Russia invaded Ukraine," a characterization he offered as context for differing policy approaches.

Wright described operational measures taken to reduce domestic price pressure, including temporary Jones Act waivers and adjustments to summer gasoline blending requirements, which he said increased refinery capacity and helped supply on the U.S. West and East coasts.

Why it matters: shipments through the Strait of Hormuz account for a significant share of global crude flows; interruptions there can quickly affect world prices and refining logistics. Wright said the combination of diplomatic, military and market measures prevented a supply interruption that could have pushed prices far higher.

The interview made assertions about volumes, releases and producer behavior that Wright presented as factual claims; those figures and characterizations were provided by Wright during the conversation and are reported here as his statements. Wright said the U.S. and allies were continuing to monitor transits and negotiations in the region, and he framed the situation as one in which deterrence and market actions together reduced Iran's ability to leverage the strait.