Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated Monday that "help is on the way” to curb energy prices and stability in the Gulf amid a realignment with OPEC.
Bessent said he expects the market to be well supplied, quelling concerns over the United Arab Emirates’s exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, better known as OPEC.
"I’m confident on the other side of this, the world's going to be awash in oil,” Bessent said during an interview with Fox News. “The UAE has come out of OPEC. They're going to be pumping more. OPEC just announced that they're going to be pumping more, and the U.S. has record crude deliveries."
UAE announced its departure from OPEC and OPEC+ following negotiations with the Treasury Department about emergency financial support, saying it was the best decision to make for the sake of its national interest.
UAE was the group’s third-largest producer, behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Its exit from the group created a shakeup for OPEC, which coordinates oil production among the world’s largest oil-producing nations.
But the UAE made the decision to leave OPEC at a time it believed would be the least disruptive to other nations in the group, according to Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei.
Oil supply in the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted since the Iran war broke out on Feb. 28. The vital shipping route for global oil and gas supplies since then has remained effectively closed.
The decision by OPEC+ to increase daily oil output was made in support of the seven oil-producing nations. This includes Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait, Algeria, Oman, and Kazakhstan.
The adjustment would take effect June 2026.
Bessent’s latest statements follow a period of surging energy prices and a blockade of Iranian oil infrastructure.
Bessent previously warned that the Treasury is monitoring retail pricing to ensure that declines in crude oil prices are passed on to consumers, stating that the administration will not tolerate companies "pocketing the spread.”
The United States began on Monday helping ships navigate the Strait of Hormuz as part of ongoing efforts to ease supply disruptions.