Oil and oil products are moving out of the Persian Gulf at just under 11 million barrels a day by ship, plus another three to five million barrels a day through bypass pipelines — the highest rate since the war with Iran began, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
Brent crude had topped $100 a barrel and diesel was marching toward a record $6 a gallon when Bloomberg's Kailey Leinz put those numbers to him. Wright's answer was that the price surge has less to do with crude than with refining capacity that Washington and California let shrink — and that Venezuela, not just the Middle East, is now part of the fix.
"I don't think that's ever happened before in human history."
Wright ran the shale-fracking company Liberty Energy for 15 years before President Trump made him Secretary of Energy, putting him in charge of the government's response to a fuel-price spike arriving in the middle of a midterm campaign.
I listened to the full interview so you can skip it.
Here are the 7 takeaways that matter.
👤 Guest: Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy and former chairman and chief executive of the shale-fracking company Liberty Energy
🎙️ Host: Kailey Leinz, Bloomberg's Washington correspondent and co-anchor of Balance of Power
📰 Published: 9 September 2026 on Bloomberg Talks
🔴 YouTube | 🟣 Apple Podcasts | ⏱️ 9 min
Key Takeaways
Refining capacity, not crude prices, is the constraint he blames for high fuel costs
Points to over a dozen refineries closed under the Biden administration, plus two more shut by California Governor Gavin Newsom in the past year
Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries are, in his account, the single biggest driver of the diesel shortage
Russia went from exporting diesel to exporting none, and from exporting gasoline to being "a meaningful importer" of it
Oil flow out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz is the highest since the war with Iran began
Just under 11 million barrels a day by ship, plus another three to five million by pipeline
He is confident Canada-US energy trade stays untouched by the broader tariff fight, and has no objection to a Canadian company buying into a major American pipeline
Was asked directly about Enbridge's purchase of Tallgrass's crude-oil business
He expects Venezuelan oil production to double within about two years, which he calls unprecedented
Won't name which companies are about to announce new investment there, but says more are coming
He predicts pump prices will be lower by midterm election day
1. It's Refining, Not Crude
Asked when Republicans could credibly tell Americans that fuel prices would improve, Wright turned the question away from oil prices and onto the refining system.
Wright traced the shortage to policy choices rather than the price of crude, saying "the problem is more than oil prices. The bigger problem is refining capacity"
"Under the Biden administration, they closed over a dozen refineries in the U.S." He added that "Gavin Newsom has closed two more large ones in the last 12 months in California"
"We're going to expand American refining capacity." He said he expects gasoline prices to fall "in the coming weeks," but called diesel "a bigger challenge"
He added that "we're working on it aggressively every day"
2. Russia's Diesel Reversal
Pressed on how much of the problem is outside his control — Leinz raised Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries — Wright agreed that was the single largest factor and described a global refining squeeze beyond Russia.
"Yeah, the Ukrainian attacks on Russian refinery, they're probably the single biggest problem with diesel." He said Russia went from a large diesel exporter to exporting none at all
Russia's gasoline trade flipped too. "Russia was an exporter of gasoline, and now they're a meaningful importer of gasoline"
China has also cut its own refining capacity, which Wright said is adding to the upward pressure on global prices
His list of the administration's countermeasures: regulatory changes letting U.S. refiners produce more gasoline, investment aimed at restoring both Venezuelan oil production and refining capacity, and "Jones Act waivers to make sure California and New England have supplies of fuel that are critical for their livelihoods"
Wright said that without the administration's energy policy, "we'd be in a world of hurt"
3. Highest Flow Since the War
Leinz asked about the U.S. strike on five Iranian tankers the day before, and whether it had cut into the oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
"The data as of this morning, we're at the highest since the start of the conflict, just under 11 million barrels a day, seven-day average of oil and oil products going out of the strait on ship, on water, and then another three to five million barrels a day from the bypass pipelines." He called it "a lot of good progress" and credited the U.S. Navy: "The American Navy is doing a phenomenal job there"
His case for the campaign is nuclear proliferation, not oil. "Iran is not that far away from a nuclear weapon," he said. "If the president had taken the politically easy route and said, I'll just kick this can down the road to my successor, imagine a world where death to America, the biggest troublemaker in the world, is now nuclear armed. That's just not an acceptable outcome."
4. Tankers Move, Risk Remains
Leinz asked whether commercial operators have grown more hesitant to transit the strait given the attacks.
"It is still a conflict zone in the strait, there's no doubt about that." Wright said transits continue because of the U.S. Navy escort
The ships making the crossing are a mix. "So these are either national fleets from the Gulf nations, some of these are commercial fleets, but they're on the aggressive side for sure"
His condition for a return to normal is political, not military. "We need a change in regime or a change in the policy of the Iranian regime to ultimately return to normal"
"Thank God we have a tough president who's thinking long term about energy and economic security for America and the world"
5. Canada Stays a Partner
Leinz turned to the US-Canada trade war and asked about Enbridge's move to buy Tallgrass's crude-oil business — should a Canadian company be allowed into a major American pipeline?
"Oh, absolutely." Wright said Canadian and American energy systems have been linked for decades to the benefit of both countries. "He's just working to improve the terms of trade, not to end trade, not to isolate ourselves from Canada, none at all"
Asked if energy would stay separate from the broader tariff fight even if it escalates, Wright agreed. "I think that's a fair assumption. Energy trade is critical between our countries and nations"
"This is a process going on right now. What you're seeing is sausage making"
6. Venezuela Output to Double
Leinz raised the deal giving the U.S. access to Venezuela's oil reserves, which the host put at 65 billion barrels, and Chevron's commitment to invest there — asking what had changed roughly ten days after the deal was announced.
"Look, there was a lot of companies already working on deals in Venezuela all along since the U.S. Intervention." Wright said interest has grown further and that investment there now looks more attractive and more secure with a larger U.S. role, with more companies expected to announce investments "in the coming weeks and months"
"I believe by the end of next year, we'll have seen a doubling of Venezuelan production from before the intervention." He called that pace unprecedented: "So to think of a large oil reserve country like Venezuela to double their oil production in two years, I don't think that's ever happened before in human history"
"This is things moving at Trump's speed, and this is our energy policy way ahead of schedule in Venezuela"
Asked to name the companies, Wright declined. "No, that would not be my job. My job is to enable American businesses and international businesses to grow the energy system to better the world." He added: "I'm definitely not doing any press releases for any of them. But rest assured, you'll hear many more announcements"
7. A Pre-Midterm Price Bet
Asked why he had no speaking slot at the convention where the interview took place, Wright pointed to a colleague's appearance instead, then closed on a direct prediction about pump prices.
Wright said, "Oh, look, I'm speaking many times in Dallas at all different venues and all different settings." He praised a cabinet colleague instead: "I just got to see our Scott Turner, our Housing and Urban Development Secretary, just rocked the stage, rocked my world, warms my heart"
Asked whether prices at the pump will be any lower on average by midterm election day in November, Wright said yes. "I think quite likely they will be. Quite likely they will be"
Bonus Insights
Leinz opened the interview by noting the backdrop against which the convention was taking place: Brent crude above $100 a barrel and diesel "marching towards $6 a gallon" — figures she put to Wright rather than ones he volunteered himself
Wright's bottom line is that the fuel-price spike is a refining and geopolitical problem rather than a crude-supply one, and that the administration's fixes — more U.S. refining capacity, Navy-escorted tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, and a bet on doubling Venezuelan output within two years — will show up as lower prices at the pump before Americans vote in the midterms.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
Enbridge (The Canadian pipeline company buying Tallgrass's crude-oil business; Wright said he has no objection to a Canadian company owning a major U.S. pipeline)
Tallgrass Energy (The U.S. crude-oil business Enbridge is acquiring, cited by the host as the test case for whether the trade war reaches energy assets)
Chevron (The company the host said had committed to new investment in Venezuela while Wright was in Caracas)
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