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US Energy Secretary Wright Opposes Diesel Export Ban, Warns It Would Backfire
Wright says blocking diesel exports would leave refiners with nowhere to store excess product, forcing run cuts that would tighten overall fuel supply and lift gasoline and jet fuel prices.
By PREVICT Research
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said a ban on diesel exports would not work and could instead push gasoline and jet fuel prices higher, putting him at odds with President Trump, who has backed the idea as diesel prices surged to record highs in the US and Europe amid the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
Wright's argument rests on the refining chain rather than the export ledger alone. Preventing diesel from leaving the country would leave refiners with nowhere to store excess product, he said, forcing them to cut refinery runs. Those cuts would reduce overall fuel supply, which in his account would raise gasoline and jet fuel prices instead of easing energy costs for consumers.
The dispute lands as diesel prices have climbed to record highs in both the US and Europe, a surge tied to the wars in Iran and Ukraine. That price backdrop is the stated reason the export ban has been backed at the presidential level, setting up a direct conflict between the Energy Department's position and the White House on how to respond to the fuel-cost spike.
