Trump claims U.S. moved 100 million barrels of oil through Hormuz, analysts say figures unlikely

President Donald Trump told reporters that the United States has been secretly moving millions of barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a claim he repeated on his social-media platform. He said the effort involved more than 200 commercial vessels and amounted to about 100 million barrels, suggesting it kept oil prices near $90 a barrel.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a congressional hearing that he was not aware of any operation moving “millions of barrels” through the strait, although he acknowledged that the military had helped some oil shipments pass. He noted that the vessels involved were not Iranian-owned.

Before the conflict, roughly 140 ships—including tankers—transited the waterway each day, carrying about 20 million barrels of oil daily. The 100-million-barrel figure cited by Trump would correspond to roughly five days of pre-war traffic, yet tracking firms report far fewer transits since March. Windward recorded about 80 commercial ships in the last five weeks, Lloyd’s List estimated 142 vessels, and Kpler logged 264, all well below the numbers required to move 100 million barrels.

Many of the ships that have passed have done so with Iranian authorization, paying fees to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, rather than through a covert U.S. operation. A Central Command spokesperson said U.S. forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercial vessels but provided no details on the scale of assistance.

Analysts note that while the United States has facilitated some oil movements, the data does not support Trump’s claim of a large-scale secret mission. The Strait of Hormuz remains a contested chokepoint, with Iran maintaining control over transit permits and charging fees that some shippers avoid due to sanctions and reputational risks.