Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have reached about 20 million barrels per day as shipping activity recovers following the interim US-Iran agreement, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday at a Reuters Global Energy Forum event.
"I could say roughly 72 ships in the last 24 hours, and 20 million barrels of oil, 19 million barrels of oil the day before," Wright said, according to a transcript of the event.
He noted that oil and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has recovered from recent disruptions, with "normal flows" through the Strait at present. "So, flow of oil out of the Arabian Gulf today is higher than it was before the conflict," Wright said.
Iranian mines remain the main obstacle to fully restoring shipping routes, Wright said, estimating that demining operations are "probably a few weeks' effort" while noting that energy supplies and critical materials already have viable export pathways.
Asked about the future security of the Strait of Hormuz and the possibility of fees being imposed on vessels, Wright expressed confidence that Iran can no longer use the waterway as leverage.
"... Iran will not have the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz going forward," Wright said.
He instead suggested an alternative solution. "The better solution is to have an agreement with the Iranians where they get some benefit, and we get a more permanent end to their nuclear program," Wright added.
On the recent sanctions waiver, Wright said it means that Iran can now sell crude at "multiple places" and can be paid in dollars. Before the waiver, Iran mostly sold crude to China.
"It's a plus for Iran, but I would say it's not a giant plus. We haven't unfrozen any funds, they haven't got anything meaningful yet," Wright said.
Wright said the administration approved about 80 million metric tons per annum of new liquefied natural gas export capacity, advanced federal lease sales and accelerated nuclear development.
He said two advanced reactors recently reached criticality, the first such milestone in more than 40 years, with another expected before July 4.
Long-term energy demand remains firmly supported by global living standards, Wright said. He noted that about 1 billion people consume roughly 13 barrels of oil per person annually, while the remaining 7 billion consume about three barrels each.
Wright attributed recent oil-price resilience to stronger supply growth and a more supportive stance toward energy producers, noting that US oil production remains at record levels. "The United States, for the last two months, is the number one exporter of oil in the world," Wright said.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve swap program will return more crude than it releases, Wright said.
"The swaps we've done so far average 1.28 barrels back for every one barrel we've released," Wright said, adding that the reserve will end up with 35 million to 40 million more barrels than it had when the program began.
Wright said policy changes and cooperation with Venezuelan authorities have already doubled the country's oil exports.
He added that exports could double again during the current administration, pushing shipments above 2 million barrels a day.
Defending the administration's stance on renewable energy subsidies, Wright argued that power markets should reward reliability rather than intermittent generation. "After 35 years of subsidies, you got to walk on your own," Wright said.
Wright also backed keeping existing coal plants online while adding nuclear, natural gas, geothermal and other generation sources to meet rising demand from artificial intelligence and data centers.
The US Department of Energy did not immediately respond to' request for comment.