The conflict in the Middle East is causing crude oil prices to jump, increasing more than 8% Monday on reports that Iran closed the critical Strait of Hormuz, fueling concerns that higher gas prices are on the way for American drivers.
The Renewable Fuels Association renewed its urgent call for Congress to pass legislation to allow the nationwide year-round sale of the lower-cost, American-made E15, a blend with 15 percent ethanol.
“Once again, the events in the Middle East and the spike in oil prices demonstrate this country’s overreliance on foreign sources for our energy,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “We need to take every action we can to insulate our nation from these geopolitically induced price spikes at the pump, and an easy solution is to increase our use of domestically produced ethanol. Congress must pass legislation to allow year-round E15, as President Trump has called them to do. This action has bipartisan and bicameral support, and American consumers demand it.”
In 2025, the U.S. imported 314 million barrels of oil from OPEC countries. If E15 were adopted nationally, Cooper said, the additional ethanol would displace half of this volume.
Kevin Book at the 2026 NEC (RFA photo)
Book discussed the importance of the Strait of Hormuz. “This discussion is a non-trivial one, not just because of the 1.6 million barrels per day of liquids that come out of Iran into the world as a part of supply, but also the 16 million barrels of crude alone that transit the Strait of Hormuz, which were exposed in the event of a conflagration and regional escalation,” he said.
Listen to Book’s pre-Epic Fury remarks at NEC:
NEC26 remarks - Kevin Book, ClearView Energy Partners (32:47)