US energy chief says Gulf oil flows nearing 14M barrels per day despite Iran tensions

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday claimed that nearly 14 million barrels of oil per day have been flowing from the Gulf region, with about half passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking in an interview with ABC News, Wright said traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had not stopped despite ongoing exchanges between the US and Iran.

"I get the data on that every day. The seven-day trailing average right now is just under seven million barrels a day flowing through the waterway and just under seven million barrels a day additional flow through the bypass pipelines," Wright said.

"So, we're at a little under 14 million barrels a day from the Arabian Gulf region. That's two-thirds of pre-conflict traffic, dramatically up from where we were back in March."

Tensions have escalated in the Middle East as the US and Iran continue to exchange attacks.

The military escalation comes despite a Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding signed in June to end the war and pave the way for a lasting peace agreement.

According to Wright, "almost all the public data" he had seen was "incorrect."

He added: "There's flow through two routes through the Strait of Hormuz."

Wright also said that "oil and gas and other products can flow through the Strait of Hormuz, with or without Iranian cooperation," adding that US President Donald Trump "wants to end it with a peaceful agreement with Iran, but it takes two parties to do that."

He said that "if they're ready to do that, that's the way it will end. If not, we will continue to assure flow of traffic through the Strait without Iran's cooperation."