Wright says US is considering Defense Production Act to lift refining capacity
A US oil company is set to discuss Venezuela investment today, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
Published
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States is looking at invoking the Defense Production Act to expand domestic refining capacity. He said a US oil company will hold talks today on a potential investment in Venezuela.
Wright also pointed to rising flows through the Strait of Hormuz. He said 18 million barrels moved through the strait in a single day, nearly double the 10 million barrel average he had cited previously. A Saudi pipeline that bypasses the strait remains offline. In earlier remarks, Wright said the 7-day rolling average of shipments through Hormuz is climbing and that he expects the trend to continue, and traders price oil partly on how freely it can move through the strait.
Taken together, the Defense Production Act discussion points to an effort to build up refining at home rather than lean more heavily on Venezuelan crude, while the Venezuela talks show dealmaking continuing on a separate track. Combined with Wright's comments on Hormuz flows and Middle Eastern refined product imports, the moves suggest the administration is working several supply channels at once rather than shifting its overall approach. That kind of diversification tends to support price stability without amounting to a change in direction.