Oil & Gas Prices Highest in Years

Dustin Meyer, American Petroleum Institute's SVP of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs joins David Gura and Christina Ruffini this morning on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss the extended impact the Iranian war will have on future oil prices and the importance of getting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve flowing as soon as possible. Watch the show LIVE every Saturday and Sunday morning. From capturing Venezuela’s president to attacking Europe’s methane rules, President Donald Trump had created a slipstream for his oil-industry backers to expand production of fossil fuels and boost profits.

But his war against Iran, now entering its fourth week, is threatening to derail some of their longer-term plans, even as they benefit from the recent surge in crude and natural gas prices.

The conflict — which has killed more than 4,200 people across the Middle East — has all but halted tanker traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz and curbed oil and gas output, causing chaos in a region energy executives had hoped Trump would help open up for foreign investment. Overseas expansion now carries heightened risk and higher costs — a development that will be front of mind for oil bosses as they gather in Houston for the annual CERAWeek by S&P Global conference this week.

“There’s going to be a security premium” baked into oil prices once the war in Iran is over, Dan Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global and founder of the conference, said in an interview. “I don’t think after this we’re going to return to where we were before.” Until recently, Trump’s aggressive foreign policy and support for fossil fuels — which included behind-the-scenes backing for US energy companies looking to expand overseas — appeared to benefit Big Oil.

His administration’s efforts have helped companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Shell Plc regain access to countries like Venezuela, Iraq and Libya, home to some of the world’s biggest reserves. While many of these expansion plans are in their infancy, they have become priorities for oil executives looking to restock their portfolios at a time when US shale production growth is slowing and the International Energy Agency expects crude consumption to continue rising through 2050.

Since the war on Iran started, the Trump administration has had in-person meetings with executives from Exxon and Chevron to discuss ways to lower oil prices and ramp up supply, according to a White House official. Though the administration has moved forward with some of those options, including plans to release oil from US strategic reserves and temporarily waiving a century-old shipping mandate to lower transportation costs, others are not on the horizon.

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