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Wright With Bret Baier: 8 to 9 Million Barrels a Day Through Hormuz, Plus 6 Million by Pipeline

August 13, 2026 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:07:44

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What happened

Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined Fox News’s Bret Baier on August 13, 2026, according to the Department of Energy’s recording, to dispute public estimates of Strait of Hormuz traffic. Baier cited tracking firm Kpler’s revised count of roughly 100-plus vessels a day before the conflict falling to 14 on Monday and 14 on Tuesday. Wright said the commercial satellite trackers are working in a conflict zone where almost all ships have their AIS transponders off and travel dark under escort, and that the United States coordinates with every ship and knows exactly what transits the strait each day, including cargo details on the southern route through Omani waters.

Wright put the running average at 8 to 9 million barrels a day through the strait, plus 6 million barrels a day diverted via pipelines that are being expanded, for round numbers of 14 to 15 million barrels a day leaving the Arabian Gulf region versus 20 million before the conflict — a shortfall of 5 to 6 million barrels a day, much smaller than commonly reported, as he presented the figures. He conceded the United States does not have total control of the strait and that Iran is causing difficulties, but said Iran’s ability to cause trouble is declining while U.S. escort capacity grows, and that Iran’s strategy will end in the collapse of the regime as its economy is strangled, as he predicted.

On prices, Wright noted gasoline at about $4 a gallon against roughly $3 in the first year of the Trump administration and $5 under President Biden, and said the administration’s goal is to get back toward $3 and will get there, with timing the only question. He said the pinch is now more in global refining than in crude delivery, citing Ukrainian attacks on Russian refining. On electricity, he said the increase shown in the CPI was a hair over the overall inflation rate, and that the capacity now coming online was permitted during the Biden administration, which he said permitted essentially only wind and solar.

Why it matters

The dispute over Hormuz traffic data is a contest over who measures the war’s economic cost: Wright’s claim that dark, escorted shipping hides most of the flow, if right, means market prices have been set against a materially wrong picture of supply.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Fox News’s Bret Baier – August 13, 2026”, 2026-08-13 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-08-13). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.