White House Message To Oil Ceos: Pump More Oil

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will urge the heads of top U.S. oil and gas companies in a call Thursday to increase drilling in a bid to lower oil prices, three people with direct knowledge of the call told POLITICO.

White House officials have invited the CEOs of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Continental Resources and other major oil companies to Thursday's call, according to two of the people, both of whom were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with reporters. Company representatives didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House and Energy Department also didn't immediately respond, while the Interior Department declined to offer specifics.

“Out of respect for the significance and oftentimes confidentiality of these discussions, the Department does not have a statement to offer on private meetings,” a spokesperson said in an email.

The impromptu conference with leading executives comes as the Trump administration escalates confrontation with Iran, whose closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to joint U.S.-Israel attacks has spiked global oil prices and created fuel shortages in some countries. The administration has been asking the oil industry to produce more, but producers have so far balked due to price volatility.

Gasoline prices are almost $1 a gallon higher than they were a year ago, on the back of oil prices that have fluctuated wildly since the war began but still remain above $100 per barrel. That bump has eroded President Donald Trump’s popularity and endangered Republicans’ congressional majority in the November midterm elections.

The elevated prices are expected to persist. Trump implemented a naval blockade of Iranian ports this week to pressure Tehran into a peace deal, which risks  boosting prices even further.

The price and energy supply crisis will worsen in the coming weeks, experts warned this week at events and annual spring meetings for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The IMF revised its global growth forecast downward due to the effects of the energy crisis.