Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC that imposing a ban on US diesel exports would be "unwise" and could exacerbate the global energy crisis. This warning came after President Trump had ruled out such a ban following European countries' response to his demands to release fuel reserves. Wirth argued that export bans reduce supply globally, potentially harming relations with allies who rely on American oil. He also noted that US crude inventories are at their lowest levels since the 1980s, highlighting the vulnerability of global oil supplies ahead of winter.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 63103: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-07
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth warned Wednesday it would be “unwise” of the US to impose a ban on diesel exports, saying such a policy could actually make the global energy crisis worse.
uncertain
crisis → warn → exports
The comments came after President Trump recently ruled out such a ban, though he threatened one last month.
asserted
he → come → one
The commander-in-chief said the measure was not necessary after European countries heeded his demands to release fuel from their reserves.
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countries → say → reserves
“Export bans, be they in the US or in other countries, actually take supply off the global market and they run the risk of making the situation worse,” Wirth told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
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Wirth → take → Europe
“The US has been a reliable supplier to the world at a time when it needs it,” he said.
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he → need → it
“And I think it would be unwise for the US 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.”
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times → think → supply
Trump previously said he was “very seriously” considering a ban on diesel exports from the US — the world’s biggest supplier of the substance — in a bid to lower prices ahead of the November midterm elections.
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he → say → elections
Such a ban could immediately reduce US prices by 30 or 40 cents a gallon, but the relief would be short-lived, according to Joe Adamski, managing director of ProcureAbility, a supply chain consultancy.
uncertain
relief → reduce → ProcureAbility
As the US market becomes flooded with supply, producers would start losing money and move their distillate refineries elsewhere, he said.
asserted
he → flood → refineries
“Europe has a lot of diesel, and they’re going to be making a major world contribution, and so are we,” Trump was quoted as saying by Politico.
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Trump → have → Politico
“And we’re not going to be doing the export ban.”
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we → go → ban
Brent crude oil rose 2% to $102.55 a barrel Wednesday as traders grew concerned about dwindling reserves amid fresh Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and storm-related production shutdowns off the US Gulf Coast.
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traders → rise → Coast
Asked whether global crude inventories are fragile ahead of the winter season, Wirth described it as a “very serious” situation.
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Wirth → ask → situation
“We came into this year with high inventories.
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We → come → 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 US or the EU,” the exec said.
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exec → hold → US
“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.
“Those are all buffers in the system that have bought us time, but they’ve been drained.
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they → see → time
And so, we’re at much lower levels of inventory right now and it makes the system more vulnerable to disruption.”
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system → ’re → disruption
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve now stands at roughly 283 million barrels, its lowest level since the 1980s, after a coordinated global release of 400 million barrels earlier this year.
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Reserve → stand → barrels
Wirth also said Venezuela will play a key role in the oil giant’s long-term strategy.
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Venezuela → say → strategy
Last month, Chevron vowed to more than double its production in the country over the next five years, a major win for the Trump administration after its capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January.
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Chevron → vow → January
A $7 billion investment in Venezuela will allow the company to increase production to 600,000 barrels a day by 2031, up from roughly 280,000 barrels per day.
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company → allow → day
“Longer term, I think Venezuela can be part of a more secure energy system.
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Venezuela → think → system
Venezuela is coming off a relatively low starting point – there has not been much investment in the country,” Wirth said.
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Wirth → come → country
“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.”
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that → have → East
In July, the energy giant reported its highest quarterly profits in six years, beating Wall Street estimates on soaring crude oil prices.
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giant → report → prices
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