Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a CNBC interview Thursday that the U.S. Navy is not prepared to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
“That will happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now,” Wright said. “We are completely unprepared. All of our military assets at this point are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing that provides that offensive capability.”
Wright said the Navy would likely be able to escort the tanker by the end of this month. “I’m going to be at the Pentagon later today. That’s what the military is working on,” the Energy Secretary told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
The international benchmark Brent crude oil price hit $100 a barrel early Thursday as attacks on commercial ships in the Persian Gulf continued this week. North Sea Brent last traded at $98.43, up about 7%.
Wright’s comments came after a post on his social media account on Tuesday falsely claimed that the Navy escorted the tanker through the Strait. The post was quickly deleted from his account, but oil prices plummeted more than 17% to Tuesday’s low.
President Donald Trump promised on March 3 that the U.S. Navy would begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.
Tanker traffic through the strait remains at a standstill as shipowners fear an attack by Iran. According to an analysis by consulting firms Rapidan Energy and Wood Mackenzie, the strait closure caused the largest oil supply disruption in history.
It is the only entry and exit route to the Persian Gulf. Before the war, about 20% of the world’s oil consumption passed through narrow waterways.
More than 30 countries agreed on Wednesday to pump 400 million barrels of oil from their stockpiles into the market to deal with the massive disruption. As part of this, the United States plans to release 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
This was the largest release of emergency stockpiles in history, but it did not calm the oil market. It remains unclear how long the war will last and when oil and gas flows through the strait will return to normal. The Trump administration has sought to reassure markets that the war will soon end.
“This is a surgery that will take weeks, not months,” Wright told CNBC.
But Iran has rejected the U.S. demand for surrender and warned that it aims to push oil prices to as high as $200 per barrel.
