Washington, D.C.—As Brent crude oil prices have risen above $70 per barrel due to increased geopolitical unrest in oil producing regions and a pending decision on the Iran nuclear deal, Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) released the following statement:

“In a geopolitically unstable world, getting more economic output out of every barrel of oil we consume is the best move we can take to improve our national security and protect our economy. As we can see in just a few days, oil prices have risen by 12 percent in just over a month due to instability in countries that share neither our interests or our values. A disruption in oil supply anywhere affects prices everywhere and American consumers are the ones who pay the price at the pump. Maintaining a national program for fuel economy, and reforming regulations to incorporate new technology, is critical to reducing our exposure to this opaque and unfree oil market. We must use our innovation prowess to defeat collusion and cartels. As the Environmental Protection Agency continues its mid-term review we urge them to take this opportunity to further reduce U.S. imports and more effectively utilize our domestic resources, complementing production growth with appropriate demand side policies.”

The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consuming country, requiring 20 percent of global supply to meet its daily demand. Oil price volatility impacts all sectors of the U.S. economy, and when oil price spikes occur businesses and consumers have no alternatives available at scale. The nation’s oil dependence is particularly acute in the transportation sector, which is 92 percent powered by petroleum.

SAFE anticipates in the coming months to see a heightened geopolitical risk premium impacting U.S. consumers. Pending decisions regarding OPEC’s supply agreement with non-OPEC producers, sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, elections in Iraq, and other risk events will inevitably impact crude oil prices.

To counter this vulnerability and insulate the U.S. economy from oil price shocks, SAFE advocates for a range of policies designed to reduce the country’s dependence. These include increasing domestic production, modernizing and strengthening fuel economy standards, adoption of advanced transportation fuels including electricity and natural gas, and the expeditious deployment of autonomous vehicles.

About Securing America’s Future Energy

Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization that aims to reduce America’s dependence on oil. Near-total dependence on petroleum in the transportation sector undermines the nation’s economic and national security, and constrains U.S. foreign policy. To combat these threats, SAFE advocates for expanded domestic production of U.S. oil and gas resources, continued improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency, and transportation sector innovations including electric vehicles, natural gas trucks, and autonomous vehicles. In 2006, SAFE joined with General P.X. Kelley (Ret.), 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO of FedEx Corporation, to form the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a group of business and former military leaders committed to reducing the United States’ dependence on oil. Today, the ESLC is co-chaired by Frederick W. Smith and General James T. Conway (Ret), 34th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

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