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Energy titans at the CERAWeek conference in Houston are sounding the alarm, warning that the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran is causing long-term damage to the global economy.
Despite the White House’s energy chief aiming to ease concerns, the executives of oil giants like TotalEnergies, Chevron, Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC and Vitol Americas expressed concern about prolonged Iran-linked volatility.
“The consequence is not only high energy prices. It will damage other supply chains,” TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said, according to Reuters.
“This is raising the cost of living for those who can least afford it and slowing economic growth everywhere. From factories to farms to families around the world, the human cost is mounting by the day,” ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said.
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“It will take time to come out of this,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said at the conference on Monday, while Vitol Americas’ Ben Marshall cautioned about “severe” demand destruction if global benchmark Brent crude eventually hits $120 a barrel.
The U.S. standard for oil prices, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, was trading at roughly $91.74 per barrel just before the market opened Tuesday, up about 4% from its previous close. WTI reached a 52-week high of $113.41 per barrel late last week, according to market data.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright joined FOX Business’ Lauren Simonetti on “Varney & Co.” Monday to discuss how a potential agreement with Iran could help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stabilize prices after weeks of disruption.
“They would go down quite a bit. If we see a pathway to have the Strait of Hormuz open soon and energy flowing again, you’d see energy prices drop pretty significantly,” Wright said.
“That could happen if a peace agreement is reached,” Wright continued. “If Iran thinks enough is enough, and they’re willing to make a deal… then there’ll be a deal.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said the Trump administration is working to blunt rising oil prices by allowing Iranian crude already at sea to be sold, a move he described as turning Tehran’s own strategy against it.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent first outlined the approach, saying the administration could temporarily lift sanctions on roughly 140 million barrels of Iranian oil loaded on tankers, adding supply to global markets rather than intervening directly in oil futures markets.
President Donald Trump has opened a path of diplomacy with Iran, allowing a five-day window for negotiations to end the conflict this week. The pause began on Tuesday even amid reports that the U.S. and Israel were escalating other aspects of the war against Tehran.
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FOX Business’ Arabella Bennett and Fox News’ Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
