March 13, 2026
By Anne Bradbury – CEO of American Exploration & Production Council
Global energy shocks don’t look like they used to in America. With the Strait of Hormuz under continued Iranian threat, the world is experiencing the biggest energy disruption in history. While oil prices remain volatile, this isn’t a repeat of the 1970s—where oil and natural gas shortages resulted in rationing and idled industries. Instead, America’s producers are blunting the worst effects of the Iran conflict currently hitting other continents in full.
While we are not immune to global energy disruptions given the interconnected nature of these commodities, our energy supply is more secure and our natural gas market is more shock resistant than ever. The current geopolitical disruption highlights how fundamental energy is to the global economy and how essential it is to have the right policies and energy management strategies in place to ensure Americans and our allies have access to affordable, reliable energy.
Price Volatility Replaces Domestic Oil Scarcity
Over the last two decades, the U.S. has shifted from energy import dependence to energy dominance—a transformation that strengthened our economic resilience. In 2005, the United States imported roughly 60% of its oil. Today, we import just 17% of our energy supply and are a net energy exporter, producing more than 13 million barrels of oil per day at record levels. American producers have been the single largest source of new global oil supply for over a decade, directly cushioning the price spikes that global disruptions would otherwise cause.
The U.S. produces about three times the combined oil output of Iran and Venezuela. That scale is why Iran’s closure of the Strait moves oil prices sharply but doesn’t trigger energy shortages like those seen during the 1970s OPEC embargo. American production is our shield against hostile energy producing nations.
American Natural Gas Abundance Stabilizes Domestic Markets
Oil markets are grabbing the headlines, but America’s natural gas buffer is just as consequential for consumers. Unlike the global oil market, natural gas markets are regional. So when Iran’s attacks shutter LNG export facilities and stop cargos from moving through the Strait, natural gas prices in countries dependent on those exports skyrocket. Qatar and the UAE export roughly 10 billion cubic feet per day of LNG through Hormuz—about 20% of global LNG trade. With that trade now cut off, European benchmark prices surged more than 67% over the past week, with prices in Asia also rising steeply.
At home, prices remain stable thanks to America’s status as the world’s largest natural gas producer. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects domestic natural gas prices will be “relatively unaffected” by the conflict, insulating families from higher utility bills and making businesses more competitive against foreign rivals facing crushing energy costs. This built-in energy advantage is entirely the product of the same Shale Revolution that transformed oil markets.
Depleting the SPR Left America Vulnerable to Adversaries
Ramping domestic energy production can’t happen overnight. It takes months or even years to bring new production online and increased certainty that additional long-term supply is needed. But the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is specifically designed to reduce the impact of severe supply disruptions during genuine emergencies triggered by conflict, infrastructure failure, or geopolitical crisis. That is precisely what we are facing today.
However, in 2022 the Biden administration drew down the SPR to its lowest levels in four decades—releasing over 180 million barrels in an attempt to lower gasoline prices in the run up to the midterm elections. The reserve, which today sits at 58% capacity and damaged from the drawdown, should have been better positioned to play a larger role in strategic releases. In contrast, China has been preparing for an era of energy conflict for years by methodically building its own reserves—purchasing discounted crude, including sanctioned Iranian and Russian oil, to fill stockpiles now estimated at nearly 1 billion barrels.
Strengthen Shale with Smart Policy
Sustaining America’s energy advantage requires a policy environment that supports it now and in the future. That means managing the SPR to reflect genuine strategic need, like the Trump administration’s decision to release 172 million barrels from the SPR and their commitment to refill it, and its smart approach to considering waivers to the Jones Act to accelerate energy flows across our country.
Long-term, it means regulatory frameworks that encourage investment in domestic production rather than raising costs and creating uncertainty. And it means comprehensive, durable permitting reform that removes the bureaucratic bottlenecks and endless lawsuits slowing production and infrastructure development of all kinds—so that American energy abundance can actually reach the people and markets that need it most.
America’s energy dominance is the envy of the world and directly benefits every American family and business in times of conflict and peace alike. With the right policies in place, we can ensure it stays that way.
