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Wright Discusses Fuel Prices, Iran, and Venezuela on Face the Nation

September 8, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:08:07

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

What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined Margaret Brennan on CBS’s Face the Nation, in an interview the Department of Energy dates to September 6, 2026; the transcript is Arabic-rendered auto-captions, paraphrased here faithfully with figures as stated. Wright said a regulatory change issued two weeks earlier would let U.S. refineries produce more gasoline and diesel with existing equipment, and that with peak summer demand passing after Labor Day, expecting lower prices was not unreasonable, responding to a suggestion attributed in the segment to Secretary Bessent of $3 gasoline by September 20, as stated there.

On diesel — described in the segment as a record $5.89 per gallon that week — Wright said Russian refineries had been badly damaged, Russia exports no diesel and has become a significant gasoline importer, and global refining capacity, shaped in his account by 17 years of Democratic policies against hydrocarbons, explains why fuel prices rose more than oil prices, as he stated it. He said the administration studies all options but focuses on maximizing production and supply rather than export bans, as he stated it.

On Iran, Wright said the administration remains open to a negotiated settlement and uses military force only if absolutely necessary, while the military’s main role is stopping Iranian exports of crude, products, and gas to squeeze the economy toward policy change or a new regime, as he stated it. He said Venezuelan oil production is ahead of schedule, with exports up 50 percent in eight months of U.S. involvement, as he stated the figure, and described the Venezuela arrangement as zero cost to U.S. taxpayers, bringing discounted oil and an ownership share, as he stated it. He said elections in Venezuela are coming but gave no timeline, citing voter records, rule of law, and prisoner releases as preconditions, as he stated them.

Why it matters

The interview joins Wright’s near-term price account — a refinery regulatory change plus falling seasonal demand — to his longer Venezuela claim of 50 percent export growth in eight months, as he stated it, both checkable against price and production data.

Scoreboard watch

Wright stated Venezuelan oil exports had grown 50 percent in eight months and that elections there are coming without a timeline — checkable claims against subsequent production reporting and any announced election date.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Margaret Brennan on CBS News’s Face the Nation - 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.