Chevron CEO says Iran war impact isn’t fully priced into oil market
Chevron Corp. CEO Mike Wirth at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference on March 23, 2026 in Houston, Texas.
Carter Smith | Bloomberg | Getty Images
HOUSTON — The oil futures market has not fully priced in the scale of the supply disruption triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Strip CEO Mike Wirth said Monday.
“There are very real, physical manifestations of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz around the world and through the system that I don’t think are fully priced into oil futures curves,” Wirth said at S&P Global’s CERAWeek conference. he said.
Oil prices fell more than 10% on Monday after President Donald Trump told CNBC that he was “very committed to making a deal with Iran.” Trump postponed attacks on Iranian power plants for five days after talks with Iran that he described as productive.
The US crude oil contract for May closed at $88.13 per barrel. International benchmark Brent prices settled at $99.94 per barrel.
The U.S. oil contract for August delivery is trading around $81 a barrel, indicating the market believes the disruption will ease in the coming weeks and months.
But Wirth said the market was trading on “insufficient information” and “perception.” He said the physical supply of oil is tighter than futures contracts suggest.
“We have too much oil and gas not flowing into the market right now,” the Chevron CEO said. “There really is a difference this time compared to previous events in terms of physical supply.”
Even if the strait reopens, it will take time to rebuild stocks, Wirth said. Before the war began, about 20% of the world’s oil supply flowed through the narrow sea lane connecting the Persian Gulf to the global market. Oil tanker traffic decreased due to Iran’s attacks on commercial ships.
Gulf Arab producers cut their production because they could not export through the Bosphorus. Iran’s missile and drone attacks also damaged the energy infrastructure in the Middle East. Wirth said some governments are also implementing policies to keep stocks in their own countries and reduce exports.
“How quickly production can come back online is an uncertainty that we will have to deal with as we move forward,” Wirth said. “It’s going to take some time to get out of this situation.”
