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WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! President Donald Trump has a message for those Americans worried about gasoline prices ticking up at a record pace this week: he’s not that concerned. ⛽💲
The Trump administration has continuously pointed to low gas prices as its metric for tackling affordability, but that has been thrown out the window as prices at the pump soar to the highest levels seen in both of Trump’s two terms. We have the latest on where prices sit below.
It remains to be seen what specific steps the administration will take, besides providing financial and physical support for vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. Though the U.S. might not be alone in that, as Lloyd’s of London has confirmed it’s in talks to provide political risk assurance for oil and gas tankers. 🚢🇮🇷 Read on for more.
Plus, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been ousted from her post, with Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin having been tapped to take her place. 🐃🤠🌾 Keep reading for information on how this may affect the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
TRUMP’S MESSAGE ON GAS PRICES – I’M NOT WORRIED: President Donald Trump is brushing off concerns about soaring gas prices, despite the fact that Americans are spending tens of millions of dollars more on gasoline today than last week thanks to the war in Iran.
Earlier this afternoon, Trump told Reuters that he doesn’t have “any concern” about rising gas prices.
“They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline price go up a little bit,” he said. “And they haven’t risen very much.”
Many drivers, particularly those needing diesel, likely would disagree with the president’s last point, as data tracked by GasBuddy has found average prices are ticking to the highest seen in either of Trump’s two terms.
Where gas prices stand: As of this morning, GasBuddy found that diesel prices were averaging $4.124 per gallon, up $0.37 in just one week, the highest since December 2023. Gasoline prices were also averaging around $3.246 per gallon, up $0.26 compared to last week. Forty-nine states have seen prices increase by at least $0.10. With these price hikes, GasBuddy also estimated that Americans are spending roughly $98 million more on gasoline compared to just last week.
“If prices remain elevated and/or continue rising as expected, the incremental cost can approach hundreds of millions of dollars per week — and could move closer to the $1B/week range if the national average climbs further or demand strengthens as we move deeper into spring,” analyst Patrick De Haan warned.
Trouble with the messaging: While the president has taken more of a dismissive stance in regard to rising prices, privately White House officials are reportedly scrambling for ways to stanch the hikes.
One energy industry executive familiar with conversations between White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Trump’s advisers told Politico that the administration is “looking under every rock.” Simultaneously, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other energy advisors are reportedly being “screamed at to find some good news.”
So far, the administration has opted not to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter rising prices, instead, choosing to offer financial and physical protections for tankers avoiding the Strait of Hormuz to resume energy flows. Other actions the administration could take include imposing a temporary holiday on the gasoline tax or using the U.S. military to defend Middle Eastern energy infrastructure.
OIL STILL ELEVATED: Price gains for domestic and international oil extended for a fourth consecutive day today, with prices eclipsing $80 per barrel, as energy infrastructure and vessels transporting oil and gas in the Middle East remain at risk.
As of around 2 p.m. EST, Brent Crude had jumped 4.72%, selling at $85.24 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate was soaring by 8.32%, priced at $80.87 per barrel.
What’s new: Late last night, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations revealed that, roughly 30 nautical miles off the coast of Kuwait, an oil tanker was hit by a “large explosion,” causing oil to spill into the Gulf, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Plus, earlier today, a drone strike hit an oil refinery in Bahrain, operated by the Bahrain Petroleum Company.
POLITICAL RISK INSURANCE FOR SHIPS IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ: Lloyd’s of London is in talks with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation regarding the administration’s plan to offer political risk insurance for ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, a Lloyd’s spokesperson told Maydeen that it is “engaging constructively” with DFC and stakeholders to ensure that Lloyd's markets “continues to lead as the global centre of excellence for war risk insurance…”
The administration’s plan to provide war insurance is not a new concept.
The DFC, a federal corporation that facilitates private capital to developing countries, has previously provided political risk insurance for businesses in Ukraine. Lloyd’s of London and insurance broker Marsh have also provided war risk insurance for Ukrainian maritime exports, particularly for steel and grain.
The effective closing of the strait has caused global energy prices to soar, as nearly 20 million barrels of crude oil and other oil products are moved through the trade route daily.
The president’s plan involves providing not only maritime insurance but also escorts by the Navy.
BIMCO chief safety & security officer Jakob Larsen told Maydeen in a statement that the president’s proposal to escort ships via the Navy could reduce the threat.
“That said, providing protection for all tankers operating in areas currently threatened by Iran is unrealistic as this would require a very high number of warships and other military assets,” Larsen noted.
Read more by Maydeen here.
DHS SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM OUT: Trump has fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after she led the administration’s immigration plans and overhauled the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Trump was reportedly pressed to remove Noem after her performance during this week’s congressional hearings. The president announced on Truth Social that she would be replaced by Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is a state that deals with a significant number of tornadoes annually and has relied on FEMA to help in storm recovery.
Mullin has previously criticized FEMA’s efficiency, suggesting more state control over disaster response.
The senator told NOTUS last year that “FEMA isn’t bad to work with, they’re just inefficient.”
“What they do most of the time is they’re reimbursing the dollars more than they’re actually helping recover,” he said. “And to me, that defeats FEMA’s role.”
He told NOTUS that Oklahoma’s departments could manage disasters more efficiently because “live and breathe that neighborhood.”
MORE FROM THE EU AMBASSADOR TO THE US ON LNG DEPENDENCE: The European Union will not become overly dependent on the U.S. for liquefied natural gas as it completely phases out Russian fossil fuels, Jovita Neliupšienė, the European Union’s ambassador to the U.S., told Callie during a wide-ranging interview yesterday.
Quick reminder: The EU finalized a ban on imports of Russian gas and LNG by 2027 earlier this year. As a result, the bloc is increasing its reliance on U.S.-produced LNG. Some European officials, including Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, have expressed concerns with swapping the region’s past dependence on Russian energy for products from the U.S.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis estimates that the bloc could be sourcing as much as 75-80% of its LNG from the U.S. by 2030. For comparison, roughly 57% of its LNG imports came from the U.S. last year.
The ambassador’s thoughts: Neliupšienė hit back on concerns that the EU is again becoming solely dependent on one source of gas, telling Callie, “It’s not true that we are replacing one with another.”
“I think that’s a very clear understanding in Europe that we are diversifying,” she said, pointing to supplies from other non-EU countries, such as Norway and Qatar.
Neliupšienė added that while the bloc draws down on its supplies from Russia, member states are also looking to become more energy-efficient, using less gas overall, while also increasing production from cleaner alternatives like renewables.
“This is not really only a part of our green policy, which we believe in sustainability, but because it's an energy security for us,” she said.
TRUMP WALKS BACK ANOTHER BIDEN OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS REGULATION: The Interior Department is reversing course on yet another regulation for the offshore oil and gas industry, in an effort to make it easier and less costly for fossil fuel firms to pursue new developments.
What’s new: The agency announced today that it is proposing updates to a 2024 rule it claims “forced companies to set aside about $6.2 billion in supplemental financial assurance.” The Trump administration claims that as a result of the rule, around $6 billion could have fallen on small businesses in compliance costs.
The existing regulation: The rule in question was finalized by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in April 2024 with the intent of protecting taxpayers from covering costs when offshore platforms require decommissioning.
The rule required offshore oil and gas lease holders to increase the amount of financial assurance available to the U.S. government that could cover potential costs of decommissioning activities, reducing the risk to the government and taxpayer in the case of a lessee default.
While issued under the Biden administration, the rule stemmed from two reports published by the Government Accountability Office in 2015 and 2024 that affirmed the need for strengthened financial assurance requirements for oil and gas companies with offshore operations.
Our takeaway: The Trump administration’s new proposal is primarily focused on cutting regulatory red tape for existing and new lessees, by lowering the amounts companies must set aside for future decommissioning and allowing firms to invest more money in new projects.
The agency said BOEM will still ensure taxpayer protections remain in place, though it remains unclear what that would look like.
The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register with a 60-day public comment period.
EU COUNTRIES GIVE FINAL APPROVAL FOR 2040 EMISSIONS REDUCTION GOAL: Members of the EU have given the final sign-off for the bloc's 2040 climate target aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The target, which is a 90% reduction compared to 1990 levels, was first agreed to last year.
The final goal is weaker than the previous version created by the European Commission, which would have allowed for countries to buy foreign carbon credits to cover up to 3% of emission reductions. EU countries will now be allowed to purchase 5% of the emission reduction goal, lowering the overall target to 85%.
CUBA BLACKOUT: Cuba faced a massive blackout yesterday, leaving nearly two-thirds of the country without power.
The power is slowly being restored today. The Ministry of Energy and Mines said on X this morning that the power grid was being restored.
The blackout is the second one to hit Cuba’s western region since the start of the year. It also comes as the country struggles with low fuel supply due to the Trump administration’s blockade of oil imports.
The administration’s pressure on Cuba is part of an effort to push out the regime. However, the Treasury Department released new guidance last month to allow U.S. companies to apply for licenses for the resale of Venezuelan oil for use in Cuba.
Still, Cuba’s situation remains dire as the lack of fuel has impacted food prices and transportation.
RUNDOWN
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