Chevron CEO Warns Oil Markets Remain Fragile Amid Iran Conflict and U.S. Policy Shifts

Mike Wirth, chair and chief executive of Chevron, told Fox News that the war sparked by Iran has left global energy markets “somewhat fragile and uncertain.” He noted that despite “pretty strong” demand, inventories of both strategic and commercial stocks have been drawn down worldwide, keeping the system vulnerable to further shocks.

The Hill

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil flows—combined with the Houthi-led blockade of the Red Sea, which strands about 5 percent of global oil, has constrained export routes. Wirth said targeted attacks on energy assets degrade the system’s capacity to meet demand, and the speed of recovery will shape when markets find a new equilibrium. Since the war began in late February, U.S. gasoline prices have risen to a national average of $4.10 per gallon, more than $1 higher than at the conflict’s outset.

The Hill

In response to the Strait closure, industry leaders have floated a pipeline that would run from Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, across the kingdom to the Suez Canal, allowing oil to bypass the Red Sea and reach the Mediterranean. The concept hinges on whether the canal can handle sufficient volumes quickly enough to satisfy global demand, a point highlighted by Homayoun Falakshahi of Kpler.

The Hill

A White House official confirmed that the Trump administration is considering reopening previously shuttered oil refineries, specifically the St. Croix facility in the U.S. Virgin Islands that was ordered to cease operations in 2021 after the Environmental Protection Agency cited an “imminent risk to public health.” Three industry executives reported that the administration has discussed reopening refineries from the Virgin Islands to California.

The Hill

• “I think the unfortunate thing is that energy assets have been targeted in this conflict, and what that means is it degrades the capacity of the energy system to meet global demand, and how quickly that comes back will be one of the things that determines when markets actually get back to some sort of a new equilibrium,” — Mike Wirth, Chevron chair and CEO

The Hill