U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks at the Gigawatt Summit in Park City, Utah, on May 22, 2026.
Natalie Bering | Getty Images
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a globally important oil shipping route crippled by the Iran war, have increased and will continue to expand.
“I would say (exports) are up in a very meaningful way,” Wright told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan at an energy conference on Tuesday, when asked about the current state of exports compared to recent weeks.
Mr Wright said it was a “fair statement” to describe oil exports from Hormuz as increasing, adding that shipments would “continue to increase” in the future.
Mr Wright’s comments came as the latest data from the IMF’s Portwatch showed traffic through Hormuz, a key route for oil exports from the Middle East, remained weak. Before the war, about 20% of the world’s oil shipments passed through the strait.
The seven-day rolling average of ship arrivals as of Sunday was just five, compared with more than 100 ship arrivals before the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February, sparking a month-long regional war.
Wright said Iran threatens global peace and economic stability, as well as global energy supplies. The minister said that despite Sunday’s missile exchange between Iran and Israel, the United States was now in a position to counter the Islamic Republic and that the situation was “moving in a very positive direction.”
U.S. crude oil prices and Brent crude oil prices fell more than 3% on Tuesday following Wright’s comments.
