1) President Trump accuses oil companies of gouging drivers, orders the Department of Justice to investigate
President Trump recently accused major US oil companies of keeping gasoline prices high. Trump said consumers were being “gouged” and he ordered the Department of Justice to investigate big oil companies for not bringing gasoline prices down fast enough.
He stated, “The big oil companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for oil— those prices are dropping like a rock!” Inflation rose to 4.2% in May, driven largely by energy costs. Many oil industry analysts have stated that gas prices don’t move in lockstep with crude oil, especially amid ongoing global supply disruptions. They have dismissed Trump’s call as “politics as usual” in Washington, DC, noting past price-gouging probes have never found collusion.
In its latest short-term energy outlook, the US Energy Information Administration stated that the average gas price for 2026 is expected to be $3.90, or some 80 cents higher than the 2025 average.
2) US Strategic Petroleum Reserve hits lowest level in four decades
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has fallen to just over 340 million barrels of oil—its lowest level since it was built four decades ago, the Department of Energy recently reported. The SPR, a system of salt caverns along the US Gulf Coast that can hold over 700 million barrels, is now below levels last seen in August 1983.
The Trump administration opened the reserve to offset a drop in global oil supply after the US-Israel war against Iran led Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for Middle East Oil exports. Traffic through the Strait ground to a halt starting in February, greatly affecting oil shipments around the world.
The Biden administration released about 40% of the SPR’s oil after crude prices spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In the weeks after the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump joined a 32-country International Energy Agency effort to release 400 million barrels—the IEA’s largest release ever.
The Trump administration promised to refill the reserve but instead offered companies 172 million barrels if they promise to return it with an additional premium. The Department of Energy plans to release up to 40 million more barrels in August-September 2026; companies taking the crude will have to return the same amount plus an additional percentage into the SPR starting next year.
3) Department of Interior eases rules for oil and gas drilling on public lands
The Interior Department recently proposed two changes to federal regulations that would slash upfront costs for oil and gas drillers on federal land and drop the requirement that cleanup plans accompany drilling applications. The goal is to make it easier for companies to pump oil and gas from federal lands as the Trump administration pushes to increase domestic fossil fuel production.
The shift would reverse Biden-era bonding increases to cover cleanup costs and make it easier to issue noncompetitive leases.
“These targeted updates cut through the red tape that has historically deterred investment, ensuring our public lands remain a reliable engine for economic growth and innovation,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said of the changes to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rules.
The Interior Department under Biden had bumped the bond required of companies for drilling on multiple leases in a single state from a $25,000 minimum to a minimum of $500,000. The new proposal drops the requirement back down to the $25,000 rate. The Trump administration’s changes would also shorten public comment periods for drilling applications from 90 days to 10 days, “modernize” filing fees, conduct additional lease sales when prior ones were canceled or delayed, and “authorize noncompetitive leases after competitive auctions,” among other changes. The second BLM rule change would remove requirements that operators submit waste minimization plans along with their drilling permit applications.
4) Independent oil companies eye Permian production boost
Four months after the war in Iran sent crude prices soaring, oil producers in the Permian Basin are starting to ramp up production. The new push may only boost production by about 250,000 barrels a day, too little to lower the price of oil or provide relief for drivers.
Independent drillers have begun adding rigs, albeit slowly, according to the data analysis firm Enverus. The same companies are working through a backlog of wells that can be brought online quickly. The trends show that producers expect high oil prices to last into 2027 because it will take that long for the new wells to come online and the volume of oil expected from the new activity isn’t likely to bring them down.
Analysts have stated that when the US began bombing Iran in February, sending crude prices above $90 a barrel, producers were cautious about drilling new wells because they were concerned that the price increase wouldn’t last. Independent producers, particularly shale drillers in the Permian Basin, are typically willing to take on more risk than major oil companies. Some smaller operators are finishing drilled-but-uncompleted wells (DUCs) that haven’t been hydraulically fractured, since they bring production online faster than new drilling, letting them cash in on high prices now.
5) Trump administration moves to revoke Endangered Species Act listing of Permian Basin lizard
The Trump administration wants to reconsider the Endangered Species Act (ESA) designation of a Texas lizard found in the Permian Basin, asking a federal judge to approve a legal settlement requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to take another look at the 2024 listing. The reversal comes as part of the lawsuit filed in 2024 by the state of Texas against the federal government. At the time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the move to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to undermine oil and gas production.
The lizard lives in shrublands and dunes in Texas and New Mexico. FWS in 2024 found the lizard’s habitat had contracted, often due to oil and gas drilling in its shinnery oak ecosystems. The determination followed more than 20 years of debate over the lizards and their status. Part of that 2024 decision, FWS said in the court filing, was based on an incorrect conclusion that habitat losses were “effectively permanent” and could not be recovered. “The Service has since re-evaluated its determination and concluded that it improperly assumed that habitat restoration could not occur,” Justice Department lawyers said in the filing, adding that FWS had made a “serious and fundamental” error. The lawyers added that “experimental efforts” to restore habitat “showed promise.”
Under the proposed settlement outlined in court, the judge would overturn the Endangered Species Act listing and return the fate of the lizards to FWS for further evaluation. Another decision would be made within the next two years.
