The article analyzes the importance of the energy factor in the system of relations between United States and Russia. It defines the role and place of the oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf, as well as Iraq and Iran in the energy policies of the United States of America and the Russian Federation. The paper discussed the conceptual content of the energy factor as a foreign policy tool, which can simultaneously act as an element of “hard” and “soft power”. The mechanism of the formation of the United States of a regional network on the system of so-called “energy outposts.” The author analyzed the basic mechanisms of the US-Russian energy dialogue in the Gulf region, as well as highlighted reasons for the rise of competitive confrontation between the superpowers in the energy sector of the region and presents main directions of Russian-American cooperation and competition in the energy sector of the Gulf States.