Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Mike Wirth said he is worried about the security of ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz as tensions in the Persian Gulf have escalated.
Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference during a Bloomberg TV interview, Wirth said he has been in contact with the teams that manage Chevron's shipping assets in the region and that the company "remain[s] concerned about the security of transit." He added that "it seems like we still have some issues to work through."
The comments come after U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire on Monday, a development that coincided with U.S. military escorts for vessels transiting the strait. That escalation followed U.S. President Donald Trump's move to reopen passage through Hormuz and posed a threat to a tentative ceasefire declared the prior month.
Wirth outlined how the conflict has already affected oil industry operations. He said Chevron and other major producers have curtailed Middle East output since hostilities began at the end of February. The disruption included a closure of the Strait of Hormuz that affected roughly 1 billion barrels of global oil cargoes and drove international crude prices up by almost 60% over about nine weeks.
Refiners, according to Wirth, have been drawing on inventories to meet demand. He warned that these inventories "may face eventual depletion," and that he has communicated to the Trump administration that the system's buffers "are being drawn down."
"It creates more upside price pressure, potentially more volatility and more risk," Wirth said, describing the market implications of shrinking supply cushions.
On domestic supply, Wirth noted that as the world's largest oil producer the U.S. is unlikely to experience fuel shortages. He cautioned, however, that consumers should expect higher prices at the pump and that the risk of outages is greater in other regions than within the United States.
The remarks underscore industry concern about maritime safety and supply resilience while highlighting how inventories and production decisions are interacting with geopolitical developments to influence markets.