--- title: "US Energy Secretary’s Oil Export Claims Disputed by Shipping Data" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/business/us-energy-secretarys-oil-export-claims-disputed-by-shipping-data" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/us-energy-secretarys-oil-export-claims-disputed-by-shipping-data" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/business/us-energy-secretarys-oil-export-claims-disputed-by-shipping-data.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/us-energy-secretarys-oil-export-claims-disputed-by-shipping-data" category: "Business & Economy" area: "Middle East" published: "2026-08-14T15:46:28.387Z" source_reported: "2026-08-13T21:12:44.943Z" updated: "2026-08-14T15:46:28.387Z" trust_score: 78 critic_score: 77 hype_score: 25 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-14T15:23:32.365Z" --- # US Energy Secretary’s Oil Export Claims Disputed by Shipping Data *Chris Wright says 9 million barrels per day leave the Strait of Hormuz, but vessel trackers report half that volume.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 78 of 100, higher is better. Includes named Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Kpler and LSEG data, and two independent full reports. - Craft 77 of 100, higher is better. Explains relevance, separates facts from claim, provides specific figures, and maintains clear narrative. - Hype 25 of 100, lower is better. Headline questions claim without overstating; language remains measured. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - US Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed on 12 August that nearly 9 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) leave the Strait of Hormuz, a figure the US government says reflects military efforts to secure the waterway. - Vessel tracking services Kpler and LSEG Oil Research report crude exports via the Strait of Hormuz at 1.74 to 2.77 million bpd for recent weeks, far below Wright’s claim. - Total Middle East crude exports were 9.53 million bpd in the week beginning 3 August, according to Kpler, well below pre-conflict levels of 18.7 million bpd. - President Donald Trump said the US has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, a claim Iran disputes. On 12 August, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on social media that "thanks to the coordinated efforts of the US military and our gulf allies, the seven-day average for oil leaving the Strait of Hormuz is currently up to almost 9 million barrels per day (bpd)." He added that total oil flows from the Middle East, including pipelines and other export facilities, were averaging approximately 15 million bpd. Wright’s claim contrasts with data from vessel tracking services. Kpler reported crude exports via the Strait of Hormuz at 2.77 million bpd for the week beginning 27 July and 1.74 million bpd for the week beginning 3 August. The highest weekly volume since the conflict began was 6.98 million bpd in late June. Total Middle East crude exports for the week beginning 3 August were 9.53 million bpd, according to Kpler, down from pre-conflict levels of 18.7 million bpd. President Donald Trump told reporters on 11 August that the US has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has rejected this claim, maintaining that it retains control over access to the waterway. ## Where the reports disagree on the gap The Daily Star (left) and Maritime Reporter (centre) both report a gap of 3 to 5 million bpd between Wright’s claim and the figures from vessel tracking services. The Daily Star lists three possible explanations: Wright’s numbers are correct and tracking services are missing clandestine shipments; Wright’s department is miscounting, possibly double-counting ship-to-ship transfers; or Wright is knowingly disseminating inaccurate information to support the Trump administration’s narrative. Maritime Reporter presents the same three possibilities without endorsing any. ## What the coverage left out None of the right-rated digests mentioned the three possibilities for the gap between Wright’s claim and the vessel tracking data. None of the centre-rated digests quoted Trump’s claim of "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, though Maritime Reporter’s full report did not mention it either. ## Who covered it Shares of the 8 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 13% (1) - Centre: 37% (3) - Right: 50% (4) 0 of 8 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-14T15:23:32.365Z. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 6 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-14T18:15:54.273Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - The Daily Star led on the discrepancy between Wright’s claim and the vessel tracking data. It quoted Wright’s statement on X and provided Kpler’s figures for the weeks beginning 27 July and 3 August. The report included total Middle East crude exports for the week beginning 3 August (9.53 million bpd) and the pre-conflict average (18.7 million bpd). It also quoted Trump’s claim of "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz. - The Daily Star used the phrase "delusional thinking about the state of the conflict" to describe the Trump administration’s track record, and framed the gap as a matter of "political narrative." It named the three possibilities for the discrepancy and said the second, miscounting, was "by far the most likely." ### Centre - The three centre-rated digests, Reuters, Market Screener, and Maritime Reporter, all carried Wright’s claim of nearly 9 million bpd leaving the Strait of Hormuz. They also included Kpler’s figures for the weeks beginning 27 July (2.77 million bpd) and 3 August (1.74 million bpd), and the total Middle East crude exports for the week beginning 3 August (9.53 million bpd). Maritime Reporter’s full report listed the same three possibilities for the gap as The Daily Star, attributing them to the author, a Reuters columnist. - Maritime Reporter’s full report did not use the phrase "delusional thinking" or frame the gap as a political narrative. It presented the three possibilities neutrally and noted that import data over the next six weeks would clarify whether Wright’s claim was accurate. ### Right - The four right-rated digests, The Thinking Conservative, The Epoch Times, Times Live, and Times of India, all led on Trump’s claim that the US has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz. The Epoch Times and The Thinking Conservative both quoted Wright’s statement that oil flows through the waterway are nearly 9 million bpd. The Times of India’s digest noted that vessel tracking services report volumes closer to half that amount. - None of the right-rated digests mentioned the total Middle East crude export figure of 9.53 million bpd for the week beginning 3 August. The Epoch Times and The Thinking Conservative did not include Kpler’s figures for the weeks beginning 27 July or 3 August. Times Live and Times of India did not specify the tracking services’ figures beyond stating they were closer to half Wright’s claim. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 1 - mixed: 2 - high: 2 - veryHigh: 3 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Reuters](https://reuters.com/commentary/reuters-open-interest/us-says-more-oil-is-leaving-middle-east-is-it-really-2026-08-13) — The US says more oil is leaving the Middle East, but is it really? - [The Thinking Conservative](https://thethinkingconservative.com/trump-says-us-has-total-control-of-hormuz-as-us-says-more-oil-moving-than-trackers-show) — Trump Says US Has ‘Total Control’ of Hormuz as US Says More Oil Moving Than Trackers Show - The Thinking Conservative News - [The Epoch Times](https://theepochtimes.com/world/trump-says-us-has-total-control-of-hormuz-as-us-says-more-oil-moving-than-trackers-show-6074269) — Trump Says US Has ‘Total Control’ of Hormuz - [Times Live](https://timeslive.co.za/news/world/2026-08-13-us-says-more-oil-is-leaving-the-middle-east-but-is-it-really) — US says more oil is leaving the Middle East, but is it really? - [Times of India](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/us-says-more-oil-is-leaving-middle-east-is-it-really/articleshow/133200422.cms) — US says more oil is leaving Middle East. Is it really? - [Market Screener](https://marketscreener.com/news/roi-the-us-says-more-oil-is-leaving-the-middle-east-but-is-it-really-russell-ce7859d9d88afe21) — ROI-The US says more oil is leaving the Middle East, but is it really?: Russell - [The Daily Star](https://thedailystar.net/business/global-economy/news/the-us-says-more-oil-leaving-the-middle-east-it-really-4247196) — The US says more oil is leaving the Middle East, but is it really? - [Maritime Reporter](https://marinelink.com/news/us-says-oil-leaving-middle-east-really-542074) — The US Says More Oil is Leaving the Middle East, but is it really? ## Questions **How much oil does the US say is leaving the Strait of Hormuz?** US Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed on 12 August that nearly 9 million barrels of oil per day leave the Strait of Hormuz, a figure the US government says reflects military efforts to secure the waterway. This is far above the 1.74 to 2.77 million bpd reported by vessel tracking services for recent weeks. **What do vessel tracking services say about oil exports from the Strait of Hormuz?** Kpler reported crude exports via the Strait of Hormuz at 2.77 million barrels per day for the week beginning 27 July and 1.74 million bpd for the week beginning 3 August. Total Middle East crude exports for the week beginning 3 August were 9.53 million bpd, according to Kpler, well below pre-conflict levels. **Why is there a gap between the US claim and the vessel tracking data?** The Daily Star and Maritime Reporter listed three possibilities: Wright’s numbers are correct and tracking services are missing clandestine shipments; Wright’s department is miscounting, possibly double-counting ship-to-ship transfers; or Wright is knowingly disseminating inaccurate information to support the Trump administration’s narrative. Neither outlet settled on one explanation. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/business/us-energy-secretarys-oil-export-claims-disputed-by-shipping-data. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "US Energy Secretary’s Oil Export Claims Disputed by Shipping Data", https://mediabias.news/business/us-energy-secretarys-oil-export-claims-disputed-by-shipping-data