More than 17 million barrels of oil transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, a wartime-era record, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC. Wright said Iran is losing its ability to disrupt the corridor even as U.S. crude hovered near $90 a barrel amid fresh strikes between Washington and Tehran.
More than 17 million barrels of oil moved through the Strait of Hormuz by ship on Monday, the highest volume since the Iran war began in late February, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in a Wednesday interview. Once shipments through Saudi Arabia's and the United Arab Emirates' pipelines that bypass the strait are counted, Wright said Monday's total topped pre-war levels, when around 20 million barrels per day of crude and products passed through Hormuz before the Feb. 28 attacks.
Iran losing its leverage, Wright says
Wright said Iran is losing its ability to disrupt traffic through the strait as the U.S. military helps tankers pass through Hormuz. According to CNBC: "causing some disruption but they are losing that card", Wright said of Tehran's efforts to interrupt oil traffic. Oil and gas will keep flowing out of the Arabian Gulf region regardless of Iran's actions, Wright told CNBC.
Corridor keeps tankers moving despite attacks
The U.S. military has set up a shipping corridor along Oman's coast that tankers from its Gulf allies use to transit Hormuz, often at night with transponders switched off to lower the risk of attack. Iran has repeatedly attacked tankers using that protected route and has demanded commercial ships instead take a northern corridor through its own waters. At least two tankers have come under attack in the strait this week, according to incident reports from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.
U.S. crude near $90 as strikes resume
U.S. crude oil was down about 1% on Wednesday. The futures contract had hovered around $90 per barrel earlier in the session, as Washington and Tehran traded military strikes, breaking a period of relative calm.
Wright made the comments to CNBC's Brian Sullivan in Venezuela on Wednesday, five days after President Donald Trump announced a large oil deal with the interim government in Caracas. The U.S. government's data on crude oil exports runs higher than figures reported by independent ship-tracking firms; Wright has said the military and Department of Energy hold the best data because private companies often miss covert transits.
Source: CNBC
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