By Sheila Dang
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Chevron would like to see durability in U.S. energy policy rather than swings from one extreme to another, CEO Mike Wirth said on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s first weeks in office during his second term have been marked by a rapid overhaul of government and the reversal of many of the energy policies of the previous administration.
Many of those policy changes have come through executive orders from the president rather than through legislation.
Policy reversals have had a direct impact on Chevron. Late last month, Trump said he was ending a license granted to Chevron since 2022 to operate in Venezuela and export its oil.
“Swinging from one extreme to another is not the right policy approach,” Wirth told the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.
“We have allocated capital that’s out there for decades, and so we really need consistent and durable policy.”
Permits for energy projects are one example that the sector needs consistent policy on, Wirth said.
“We need to see some of this in legislation so it’s more durable and not at risk of being swung back in another direction by a future administration.”
Chevron’s oil and gas production with the highest returns was disproportionately weighted toward the United States, he said.
The CEO reiterated that the No. 2 oil producer will grow output in the Gulf of America – using the term Trump has ordered for the body of water known internationally as the Gulf of Mexico – over the next few years to 300,000 barrels per day, up from 200,000 bpd last year.
He added that Chevron will soon reach 1 million bpd in the Permian basin, the top U.S. oilfield, after which the company will plateau growth in the shale field and focus on generating free cash flow.
Wirth said he expected the industry to continue to invest across Asia, where there is a better economic outlook than in Europe.
(Reporting by Sheila Dang; Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
