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Secretary Wright on CNN: Hormuz Flows, Fuel Prices and Venezuela's Oil Rebound

September 8, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:08:24

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined CNN’s State of the Union with Dana Bash on September 6, 2026. Asked whether the Strait of Hormuz is under U.S. control, given U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers and reported Iranian attacks on at least 23 commercial ships over two months, Wright said tanker transits now average more than 9 million barrels per day and that, with pipelines bypassing the strait, roughly two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flow levels have been restored. He said the U.S. Navy is winning that battle, though Iranians still cause trouble, as he stated it.

Pressed on whether the Navy must stay indefinitely, Wright predicted a change in Iran’s regime or at least its policies, and said other countries would eventually join the effort since global trade should not be America’s responsibility alone. He declined to call transit categorically safe, saying ships can cross safely if they work with the U.S. Navy, that Iranian ships do not cross at all, and that the situation is a ticking time bomb for Iran’s economy, as he stated it.

On fuel prices — with Labor Day weekend gasoline at a record $4.13 a gallon and diesel at a record $3.85 as cited by Bash — Wright pointed to futures markets pricing gasoline more than 30 cents lower two months out, the end of the summer driving season, and the administration’s changes to refinery blending requirements, which he noted New York, Connecticut, California, and other Democrat-governed states declined to adopt. He attributed diesel tightness mainly to Ukraine’s destruction of Russian refineries, Russia’s ban on diesel exports, and China’s export cuts, and said the administration is working with refiners to expand capacity.

On Venezuela, Wright said national oil production is up 25 percent and exports up 50 percent, that billions in new investment have been announced, and that production will likely double from its level when the U.S. intervened by the end of the following year, as he stated it.

Why it matters

The interview commits the Energy Secretary to a set of measurable claims — Hormuz flows, the direction of fuel prices, and a Venezuela production timeline — at a moment when energy prices are the administration’s most exposed economic front.

Scoreboard watch

Wright’s prediction that Venezuelan oil production will likely double by the end of the following year, and his statement that Hormuz transits have recovered to more than 9 million barrels a day, are dated, checkable claims for the scoreboard.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins CNN’s State of the Union with Dana Bash – September 6, 2026”, 2026-09-08 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-09-08). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.