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Read highlights of the conversation below:
Rep. Pfluger on the meeting between President Trump and oil executives:
First off, I'm so glad that President Trump is meeting with these experts, and I know they're going to have a good discussion. Energy is the foundation for everything in our economy. Yes, we want low prices, but if they're driven too low, it's really about jobs. It's not about profits. It's about jobs, and we could lose those jobs right now. We're in a position to remain energy dominant. The President was right to extract Maduro, who is a narco-terrorist. And by the way, the Maduro regime stole and expropriated assets from U.S. companies. They should pay that back. Those U.S. companies should be able to regain what was rightfully theirs.
Number two, I think that the Venezuelan barrels of oil right now, some of the tankers that have been seized, and what President Trump has done should be used to refill our Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a discounted rate. They stole our assets. Let's refill the reserve. By the way, Biden completely drained our reserve for political reasons. Over 300 million barrels still remain to be filled. Let's fill that up at a discounted rate right now.
When it comes to U.S. production, I am America First for U.S. production. Let's keep that sustainable. And yes, a low price is good. We are currently sitting in the upper 50s. The mid-60s is about where you can continue to produce American oil. If we go further down, then we run the risk. And actually, I would say it's very likely that we will start laying rigs down, and we won't be able to produce America First oil, which we want to do.
Rep. Pfluger on pushing back against low oil prices in America:
That band is $65 to $85, and I would argue that the diminishing returns don't get much better below that price. At $65, you can continue to drill. Let's remember, this isn't your old, 40-year-old oil field where you drill vertically. These are horizontal wells. They're shale rock. The wells that are drilled, as you saw when you visited, diminish within a year, so you have to drill another one in order to keep the production flat. So that band that we talked about, that you saw, is actually what consumers want, because it prevents the cyclical boom and bust nature of this business from happening. It keeps it sustainable. Gas prices do remain low. I mean, we're down 20%, let's stay right where we are, because then that allows those jobs to continue. It allows gas and groceries to be low, but it allows U.S. production to continue to be dominant, and we don't have to depend on other countries. If you go much lower than that, we run the risk of not producing here, and that's at the end of the day when President Trump said, “drill, baby, drill,” this is what we're talking about. So he has identified that everything is more expensive. That was the Biden House of Cards. Oil underpins everything. Energy underpins everything. U.S. production needs to remain high
Rep. Pfluger on using Venezuelan oil to refill the SPR:
Well, the President has the right idea. Let's use that oil right now at a discounted rate, and what Maduro stole from US companies, let's make them whole and give them what is rightfully theirs, what was stolen and expropriated from them. Let's refill the SPR, and what Secretary Wright said is correct. The refineries on the Gulf Coast are tooled for the specific product that's coming out of Venezuela. They produce about 800,000 barrels a day. We'll keep it right there. U.S. companies have expertise; they're no stranger to that area. Let's keep that flowing into the market. But now it's not sanctioned, and it's not in the hands of a narco-terrorist who is literally trying to kill hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people around the world with deadly drugs. So the President was brilliant in this move, but I say we fill up the SPR immediately.
Rep. Pfluger on the future of energy policy, more broadly speaking:
I represent the most important area, the largest secure supply of oil and gas, and we have to make sure that it is central to the United States' energy policy. We have to make sure that onshore shale production remains the strong, dominant piece of our energy policy. So it starts there, which means that let's keep a good, sustainable, low-price, affordable energy policy going. Let's keep the job strong, and let's keep that energy flowing, not only to us, but around the world. And there are so many people around the world, so many allies and so many partners that want our product, that want that associated natural gas that comes with the production of oil out of the Permian Basin or out of the Marcellus, out of the Bakken, and other areas. Onshore production needs to remain strong, but we need to have the ability to keep that price, where we keep the jobs. When we push it down, it might be a sugar rush to have that low price, but let's keep it sustainable. I'm worried about today, but I'm also worried about next year and the year after. And we've got a chance here to have a really strong economy for the next decade.
Background:
In a recent op-ed in The Dallas Morning News, Rep. Pfluger sounds the alarm and makes the case that Congress must act now to refill the dangerously depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) while prices are low and the opportunity is ripe.
In his piece, he warns that the Biden administration's unprecedented drawdown of the SPR has left America's emergency crude oil stockpile running on fumes, leaving the nation exposed to global instability and sudden supply shocks.
With oil prices projected to remain relatively low through 2026 and geopolitical tensions escalating worldwide, Rep. Pfluger argues that Congress has a narrow but critical window to act. Kicking the can down the road, he cautions, would squander an opportunity to replenish the reserve at a discount and risks leaving the nation vulnerable when the next global crisis inevitably strikes. As Rep. Pfluger writes, “Congress must build on the momentum from the WFTC and prioritize appropriating the necessary funds to fully replenish the SPR now– not after the next global disruption drives prices up or exposes a crippling vulnerability.”
The op-ed comes as Republicans outline their 2026 priorities. After making historic progress toward restoring American energy dominance in 2025, Rep. Pfluger argues the path forward is clear: refilling the SPR is a no-brainer. It's a commonsense step that will strengthen national security, protect taxpayer dollars, and ensure America isn't left running on empty when it matters most.
Read the full op-ed in The Dallas Morning News HERE.
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