U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that energy prices are set to decline under President Donald Trump’s administration, potentially falling below the levels seen during the final four years of President Joe Biden’s term.
“Under President Trump’s leadership in the next four years, we’ll almost certainly see lower average energy prices than we saw in the last four years of the previous administration,” Wright told reporters during a media briefing in Riyadh. He did not provide specific price forecasts.
The Biden administration had frequently clashed with Saudi Arabia over oil production strategy, particularly as the U.S. pressed for higher output to curb inflation. Crude oil prices averaged around $83 per barrel between 2017 and 2021, Bloomberg data shows.
While Wright declined to speculate on current or future oil prices, he emphasized policy tools that could lower energy costs. “If you reduce barriers to investment and to infrastructure development, you can lower the supply costs of energy,” he said.
Oil markets have been experiencing downward pressure, with crude recently dipping below $65 per barrel — its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic. The drop followed increased production pledges from Saudi Arabia and its partners, and recent market volatility spurred by Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs. The current price slump poses fiscal risks to Saudi Arabia, which relies on higher oil revenues to fund its ambitious economic transformation plans, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.
Despite past policy disagreements, Wright said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are now aligned on broader energy goals. “President Trump — and I think the Kingdom — want to see increased demand for energy around the globe and we want to see increased supply,” he said.
Wright also revealed that Washington and Riyadh are making headway toward a preliminary agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation. The framework, expected to take shape this year, would address non-proliferation standards and nuclear technology controls.
For Saudi Arabia to move forward with the program, it must sign a so-called “123 Agreement” with the U.S., which governs nuclear proliferation, technology transfer, and safeguards. Wright emphasized that the U.S. considers it vital that Saudi Arabia avoids nuclear cooperation with China.
“That view is shared across the two nations,” Wright said. “The fact that that may have been in doubt is probably indicative of unproductive relationships between the United States and Saudi Arabia over the last several years.”
Saudi Arabia has previously explored partnerships with foreign nuclear developers, including companies from Russia, China, France, and South Korea. Under the Biden administration, nuclear cooperation had been tied to a broader strategic package involving defense agreements, trade deals, and Saudi normalization of relations with Israel. That diplomatic initiative stalled after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent military conflict.
Wright is currently visiting multiple Middle Eastern nations, with his stop in Riyadh including talks with Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
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