As Trump suggests Middle East oil disruption is not his problem, experts say talk of US ‘energy independence’ is a smokescreen – with consumers paying the price
A month has passed since the US and Israel’s war on Iran all but closed the strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies typically flow. Prices have surged, amid fears of sustained disruption to global supplies.
Donald Trump argues this is not his country’s problem. “Go get your own oil!” the president urged countries, including the UK, earlier this week. The US has “plenty”, he added. The US is “totally independent” of the Middle East, the president claimed in a prime-time address on Wednesday. “We don’t need their oil.”
“Under my leadership, we are [the] No 1 producer of oil and gas on the planet, without even discussing the millions of barrels that we’re getting from Venezuela,” he said.
Trump and his allies hail the US as an energy “superpower” after a historic surge in domestic oil production sparked by the fracking boom. For years now, it has produced more oil than the entire country consumes.
