Chevron CEO Mike Wirth Talks Energy Markets, Iran War

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth flags escalating geopolitical risk in the Strait of Hormuz, warning of drawn-down energy buffers, increased upside price pressure, and heightened volatility for WTI. He emphasizes the US cannot fully replace the 20% of global supply transiting the strait, leading to global price pressures even for US consumers. Wirth confirms production slowdowns in Kuwait/Saudi Arabia and cuts at Mediterranean gas/petrochemical facilities due to transit issues, though Chevron's exposure is limited. He reiterates plans to grow global production by 7-10% to meet demand.

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Mike Wirth 9.0

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth Talks Energy Markets, Iran War | Bloomberg Talks

energy markets

wti

The buffers in the system that help ensure supplies are available to markets are being drawn down. And what that does is it creates more upside price pressure, potentially more volatility and more risk.

9 calls

-21

consistently off direction or weak follow-through

5/2/2026 1:34:05 AM	short term cautious up	7 days later	-7.85%	-3.92%
5/1/2026 4:06:28 PM	short term sharp up	7 days later	-7.85%	-11.77%
5/1/2026 2:29:31 PM	short term sharp up	7 days later	-7.85%	-11.77%
1/30/2026 6:22:33 PM	medium term cautious down	21 days later	+6.71%	-3.36%
11/13/2025 12:53:57 AM	medium term cautious down	20 days later	-0.70%	+0.35%
11/12/2025 3:21:20 PM	long term cautious up	60 days later	+1.38%	+0.69%
10/31/2025 4:50:15 PM	short term cautious up	7 days later	-1.51%	-0.75%
8/23/2025 5:06:13 PM	long term up	60 days later	-5.09%	-5.09%
8/23/2025 2:51:40 AM	long term up	60 days later	-5.09%	-5.09%

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The ceasefire in the Middle East has broken down, raising questions about how prolonged the Strait of Hormuz closure will be and its economic impact.

Romaine Bostick
Mike Wirth

It's still difficult to say how long the closure will last. There were plans for a transit corridor but now there's kinetic activity in the region. We remain concerned about security of transit.

I've been in touch with our people that manage our shipping assets in the region.
What advice would you give the administration to bring this to a conclusion?

Romaine Bostick
Mike Wirth

My advice relates to energy markets: the buffers in the system that help ensure supplies are available are being drawn down, creating more upside price pressure, more volatility, and more risk.

I confine my discussions to the energy system, not diplomacy or military.
US net exports have increased. How long can the US plug gaps in the global energy supply chain?

Katie Grissel
Mike Wirth

20% of the world's energy supply flows through the Strait of Hormuz - oil, LNG, refined products - going to Europe and Asia. The US can't make up all that supply. Inventories are being drawn down and the supply situation is tightening.

The US is the largest producer and has been exporting growing quantities, which helps, but cannot fully compensate.
US production has insulated US consumers from higher prices seen in Asia and Europe. Will US consumers eventually see similar prices?

Katie Grissel
Mike Wirth

The US is not going to see supply outages, but will see price pressures because it's a global market. Other regions face supply outage risks - Europe has flight cancellations due to jet fuel tightness, Asian economies have instituted demand reduction policies.

Countries like Australia that shut down refining capacity and depend on imports are taking measures to address supply concerns.
Has the situation disrupted Chevron's investments in the Middle East?

Romaine Bostick
Mike Wirth

Production in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia has slowed because we can't evacuate product and storage is filling. Mediterranean natural gas facilities are at full capacity. Petrochemical joint ventures have cut back production. We're less exposed than peers.

The impact on our company has been lower than for some others.
Mike Wirth

Forecasting in a commodity business is always challenging. We're working with scenarios for when things might resume to normal, what that means for supply and demand. We can't predict price - we look at a range of alternatives.

The volatility cost us about $3 billion in the most recent quarter.
Any plans to increase production in the Permian or Argentina given supply shortfalls?

Katie Grissel
Mike Wirth

We're up 500,000 barrels a day quarter on quarter versus same quarter last year. Plans are to grow 7-10% globally this year while demand grows about 2%. Those supplies are sorely needed.

We're investing to grow at a rate greater than global demand.

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