Chevron CEO Mike Wirth: We'd Like To See "More Collaborative And Open Dialogue" With Biden Administration

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth discussed new energy policies like permitting reform in the recent debt ceiling agreement and responded to some of President Biden's commentary about the future of the energy industry, during an interview with Bret Baier Monday on FNC's "Special Report."

"We would like to see a more collaborative and open dialogue with the administration. We can work together to protect the environment, to address climate change, and to create energy security," Wirth said in response to President Biden's quip at the 2023 State of the Union address that the U.S. is planning to use oil and gas for "at least another decade."

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS: Basically, the de facto leader of OPEC, Saudi Arabia, saying on Sunday they would drop production by about 10%, one million barrels per day. Big picture, what does that mean for your industry?

MIKE WIRTH, CHEVRON: It's a market that is relatively well supplied today, by most accounts, but we have seen a tug-of-war between bullish expectations with China reopening and strong demand and concerns about the debt ceiling, the Fed raising rates, a slowing economy. So there has been somewhat of a range-bound market. We've actually seen crude price trending downward. The read I get out of it is Saudi Arabia is concerned that the market could be trending toward a little bit of oversupply and this tends to keep things stable and balanced.

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BAIER: What is your biggest concern, from your company's perspective, of there is talk of increasing domestic production, but are you hindered in that?

WIRTH: The U.S. is blessed with abundant resources, with the deepest industrial base in the world in our industry, and we have the ability, as we have seen in recent years, to make the U.S. an energy powerhouse. But it does need to be done with the support of policy, with an environment that encourages investment, and we have seen some mixed signals here over recent years. Now, some good news in the recent debt ceiling act, where there was some permitting reform. Modest, but meaningful steps on permitting reform. We hope that's a sign of an intent on the part of the administration and Congress to work further towards energy policy that balances economic prosperity, energy security, and environmental protection, but doesn't overfocus on any one of those.

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BAIER: So the president has used a couple of lines many, many times, President Biden has on both profits and about leases.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Have you noticed big oil just reported its profits, record profits? Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis... They have 9,000 permits to drill now. They could be drilling right now, yesterday, last week, last year.

BAIER: So, from the industry's perspective, can you respond to those two statements that really do make their way into a lot of speeches?

WIRTH: We are in a commodity business. Commodity market-set prices. During Covid, the industry lost a lot of money. As we have come out of Covid, we have been on the other side of that. So it's a big industry, the numbers can be large, but they can go in both directions, and they can go there quickly. The "9,000 permits" point, we really haven't heard that much lately. We don't have any understanding of where that comes from. We are not sitting on permits that we're not using. We have permit applications in that we'd like to see acted on...

I don't know where it's coming from.

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If we had leasing, and a supportive policy environment, and a supportive market, I think the industry could produce more. We certainly have seen dramatic growth in recent years. And we also are working, you know, within the policy framework we have on new energies.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: They invested too little of that profit on increased domestic production. When I talked to a couple of them, they said they're afraid you are going it shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them? I said we are going to need oil for at least another decade and that's going to exceed, and beyond that. We're going to need it.

BAIER: The president got laughs there on "at least another decade." He is talking about CEOs in your business, like you, that he is having these conversations with.

WIRTH: Well, I think the point that he is responding to, it's a point that I have made, is that ours is a long-cycle industry. When we invest in a refinery, a producing asset, it has a lifespan measured in several decades. So we have to look at the risks in the future. We have to allocate capital in a way that reflects an expectation we're going to earn a return for our shareholders over a long period of time.

The world will be using oil and gas for much more than the next 10 years. And we certainly invest accordingly. But, look, the policy environment that discourages investment is one that has an effect and we certainly have seen some signals that have discouraged investment in this country. We would like to see a more collaborative and open dialogue with the administration. We can work together to protect the environment, to address climate change, and to create energy security.