Energy Secretary Chris Wright: Approximately 15 Million Barrels Per Day Now Leaving Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said this week that coordinated efforts by the American military and Gulf allies have restored significant oil flows out of the Arabian Gulf, with the seven-day average for oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz reaching almost 9 million barrels per day.

In posts on X, Wright stated that when combined with an additional 5 to 7 million barrels per day moving through newly upgraded pipelines and export facilities, total oil flows from the region are currently averaging approximately 15 million barrels per day. He noted that on one recent Sunday more than 20 million barrels left the Arabian Gulf region, a figure he described as above the pre-conflict average.

Wright emphasized that the Department of Energy, working in coordination with the U.S. military, maintains the best available data on oil and petroleum products leaving the area. He pointed out that many private tracking firms undercount the volume of ships transiting the strait because a substantial number of vessels are moving covertly with their tracking systems off, a practice commonly referred to as traveling “dark.”

Independent commercial trackers and analysts have published lower estimates for Strait of Hormuz transit volumes in recent days, often ranging well below the figures cited by Wright. Those discrepancies are not unexpected given the limitations of open-source and commercial satellite or AIS-based monitoring during a period of heightened military activity and deliberate dark sailing. U.S. military assets operating in the region possess real-time visibility and intelligence that commercial services do not, giving the Department of Energy a more complete picture of actual movements.

The comments come amid ongoing efforts to keep energy supplies moving through one of the world’s most critical chokepoints despite regional tensions. Wright has previously highlighted the role of U.S. naval escorts and alternative routing in sustaining flows even when Iran has sought to disrupt traffic. The latest numbers, according to the secretary, reflect continued progress in securing and expanding those pathways.

Oil markets remain sensitive to any perceived interruption in Gulf supplies. Wright’s update is intended to reassure that volumes are recovering and that the combination of protected strait transit and expanded overland and pipeline options is keeping significant quantities of crude and products reaching global markets.