With the Iran war prompting oil transport blockages in the Middle East that are pushing up oil and gasoline prices, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has become a public face of the Trump administration’s efforts to calm consumers.

In a March 12 interview on Fox News, Wright downplayed the impact on the U.S. from stalled traffic in the Strait of Hormuz , through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil traffic flows.

“The United States — we produce more oil than we can consume. We’re a net oil exporter,” Wright said.

This comment misses some important context.

Some metrics show the U.S. as a net exporter, but for crude oil — the material that’s refined into gasoline — the U.S.…