US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that lowering pump prices will ultimately take a resolution with Iran to get more oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Wright made the comments during an appearance at the Sable Offshore oil and gas facility near Santa Barbara, California, which restarted this year after US President Donald Trump invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to supersede state laws.
Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum used the media event to blame California's strict environmental policies for the state's sky-high gasoline prices, which hover around $6 a gallon.
The administration is prepared to take additional steps aimed at lowering gas prices in the Golden State, Wright said, and has sought to engage with California Governor Gavin Newsom on ways to assist the state's struggling oil refineries following two recent closures.
"The best course is to roll back some of the regulations that have forced the last two to close," he said. "I've certainly tried to engage in a dialog with the governor here to say, why would you sacrifice Californians for no benefit, no environmental benefit, no California economic security benefit?"
Resolution with Iran key to lowering gas prices
Asked what it will take to lower soaring gas prices for all Americans, Wright said it would take a deal with Iran.
"The pathway to bring gasoline and diesel prices back down is to get more oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz," he said in an interview. "Ultimately that's going to be a resolution with Iran."
He added that the higher gas prices were justified by the military effort to remove Iran as a nuclear threat.
"We're paying extra, but we're solving a major geopolitical challenge, a major threat to national security, a major threat to that whole region of the world," Wright said. "That's a cost that we're getting something for."
California has limited regional production and minimal connectivity to the Gulf Coast refining hub. There are no pipelines delivering fuel to California from across the Rocky Mountains.
Newsom's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.