The White House is making a direct appeal to the U.S. oil and gas industry, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum scheduled to urge top executives on a call Thursday to ramp up drilling efforts in an attempt to bring down soaring oil prices. The push comes as gasoline prices are now almost a dollar a gallon higher than they were one year ago, pushing the national average well above $4.00 a gallon.
As detailed by Politico, officials have extended invitations to the CEOs of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, and Continental Resources, among others. Sources with direct knowledge of the call, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the administration is pushing hard for increased production. Representatives from the companies did not respond to requests for comment, and the White House and Energy Department also declined. The Interior Department stated: “Out of respect for the significance and oftentimes confidentiality of these discussions, the Department does not have a statement to offer on private meetings.”
The call comes as the administration escalates its confrontation with Iran, a conflict that has had a direct impact on global oil prices. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to joint U.S.-Israel attacks, triggering a significant spike in oil prices and fuel shortages in several countries. The administration has been pressing the oil industry to produce more for some time, but producers have hesitated due to price volatility.
Experts say U.S. drilling can’t fix a problem rooted in the global oil market
Despite the push for more domestic production, experts warn that simply pumping more oil will not address the underlying drivers of high prices. U.S. gas prices are tied to the global oil market, and domestic supply increases cannot offset disruptions elsewhere. The stalled US-Iran peace talks over the Strait of Hormuz, enriched uranium stockpiles, and frozen oil revenues have left no clear path to resolving the supply disruption.
Crude prices have jumped above $100 per barrel recently and remain elevated. The high prices are a significant factor eroding President Donald Trump’s popularity and potentially endangering the Republican congressional majority in the November midterms. Trump implemented a naval blockade of Iranian ports this week, aiming to pressure Tehran into a peace deal, a move that risks pushing prices higher.
Experts at the recent spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank warned that the price and energy supply crisis is likely to worsen in the coming weeks. The IMF has already revised its global growth forecast downward, directly attributing the change to the ongoing energy crisis. Amid the conflict’s broader toll, soldiers quietly leaving the military over the Iran war has emerged as a separate but growing concern for the Pentagon.
Even though the U.S. is the world’s largest oil producer, it cannot offset the standstill in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also begun reducing production, adding further complexity to global supply.
Not all oil is the same, and the U.S. consumes a different grade than it primarily produces. The U.S. extracts large volumes of light crude through fracking, which experts refer to as “the champagne of crudes,” and exported around 3.9 million barrels of it per day in 2025. The oil that has historically powered U.S. cars and industry, however, is a heavier, thicker crude that typically comes from Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Central and South American nations. The U.S. imported around 6.2 million barrels of crude per day last year, most of it heavy- or medium-density, with Canada supplying approximately 3.9 million barrels of that daily.
Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, put it plainly: “The reality of the global oil market is a supply disruption anywhere leads to a price shock at the pump everywhere, including the US.” Prices for different grades are set in a global market, and even though most oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz flows to Asia, the U.S. remains heavily affected.
Many U.S. refineries, some built as far back as the 1930s, were designed to process heavy crude before America’s light-oil boom. Gulf Coast refineries often process domestic oil due to proximity to the Permian Basin, while Midwestern and Western refineries rely heavily on Canadian supply. Jenna Delaney, a Rapidan Energy Group analyst focused on global crude, noted that factoring in price and intended end products makes it a far more complex calculation than simply using what the country produces. “It’s complex, it’s regionally specific and it’s a lot more complicated than saying, ‘we produce this crude, we should use all of it and not export any of it,'” Delaney said.
Published: Apr 15, 2026 08:00 pm