The chief executive of U.S. oil giant Chevron on Wednesday warned that it would be “unwise” for the Trump administration to move forward with a diesel export ban, saying the policy risks worsening the supply situation.
“Export bans, be they in the U.S. or in other countries, actually take supply off the global market and they run the risk of making the situation worse,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
“The U.S. has been a reliable supplier to the world at a time when it needs it,” he continued. “And I think it would be unwise for the U.S. to create questions in the minds of our allies and our partners as to whether or not we will be there with reliable supply when times are difficult — and so, there are other options.”
His comments come as rising Middle East crude exports and an emergency G7 stockpile release appear to have helped to ease supply fears, although energy market participants remain on edge as Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces exchange attacks.
The U.S.-Iran war has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that typically handles around 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, sending shock waves through the global economy.
A sign displays the prices of unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel at a Chevron gas station in Bay Harbor Island, Florida, US, on Monday, June 22, 2026.
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U.S. President Donald Trump, who has cooled on the prospect of authorizing a diesel export ban after G7 countries agreed to release diesel and crude oil from their emergency reserves, recently allowed the use of cheaper red-dyed diesel to be used more broadly in part of a push to bring down record-high fuel costs.
Trump signed an executive order Monday evening stateside to temporarily allow truckers and farmers to use red-dyed diesel — which is exempt from highway fuel taxes — and deferred related taxes on the fuel through the end of this year.
The tax-free diesel is typically used by farm equipment, construction machinery, trucks and other off-road vehicles. It is therefore exempt from a 24.4-cent-per-gallon tax applied to diesel fuel sold for highway transportation.
Energy system ‘more vulnerable to disruption’
Asked how fragile the global inventory position is ahead of winter, Chevron’s CEO described it as a “very serious” situation.
“We came into this year with high inventories. High inventories in commercial stocks held by companies, high inventories in strategic stocks held by governments around the world and actually significant inventories on the water, particularly barrels that were sanctioned by the U.S. or the EU,” Wirth said.
“Over the last several months, we’ve seen commercial inventories draw down, strategic stocks be released and those sanctioned barrels have been relieved and allowed to be delivered as well,” he continued.
“Those are all buffers in the system that have bought us time, but they’ve been drained. And so, we’re at much lower levels of inventory right now and it makes the system more vulnerable to disruption.”
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said earlier this week that it could take up to two years to rebuild global oil inventories, warning that the squeeze on supplies could yet get worse as the U.S.-Iran war drags on.
Venezuela outlook
Chevron, which has long-standing operations in Venezuela, recently pledged to more than double its oil production in the South American country over the next five years.
As part of a $7 billion investment, Chevron said earlier this month that it plans to increase production in the country to 600,000 barrels per day by 2031, compared with about 280,000 bpd currently.
Shares of Chevron so far this year.
“Longer term, I think Venezuela can be part of a more secure energy system. Venezuela is coming off a relatively low starting point — there has not been much investment in the country,” Wirth said.
“We have a good position there that we intend to grow, but that takes time and the amount of production that Venezuela can add over the next short period of time is dwarfed by the amount that is at risk in the Middle East,” he added.
Shares of the Houston-based company are marginally lower over the last month, but the stock is up over 36% year-to-date.
— CNBC’s Anniek Bao & Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
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