President Trump and top lieutenants met with oil and gas execs at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the energy fallout of the Iran war and the possibility of a lengthy blockade of the country, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The unprecedented Middle East supply disruption is boosting commodity prices and creating a mix of opportunity and peril for the industry.
Driving the news: Among the attendees was Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, a company spokesperson confirmed.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hosted the meeting, and Vice President Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were on hand, per a White House source familiar with the meeting.
The big picture: The group discussed "steps we could take to continue the current blockade for months if needed and minimize impact on American consumers," a second White House official told us.
"The president meets with energy executives frequently to get their feedback on domestic and international energy markets," that official added.
- Topics included domestic production, progress in Venezuela, oil futures, natural gas and shipping, the person said.
What we're watching: Trump and Capitol Hill Republicans are bracing for the political fallout of high U.S. gasoline prices, which are tethered to crude oil prices set on global markets now facing a historic loss of supply.
- Average U.S. gasoline prices are $4.23 per gallon as of today, per AAA. That's the most expensive since the war began and the highest since 2022 — and it's been surging.
- The White House has taken steps to ease the price increases, such as waiving the Jones Act, which requires U.S.-built and -owned ships to move goods between domestic ports.
- But it faces limited options to ease the market shock.
Zoom out: Uncertainty weighs on companies, and if prices stay high enough for long enough, it will cut into oil demand in the U.S. and abroad.
- The de facto closing of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about a fourth of the world's seaborne oil, has sent prices to multiyear highs.
- But throttled supply from the region is also boosting the market for U.S. oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details on the meeting participants and what they discussed.
