Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth is doubling down on oil. The boss of the $180 billion U.S. fossil fuel firm told Reuters on Tuesday that he was a fan of the 2015 Paris Agreement to cut carbon emissions, but also didn’t think crude demand would permanently plummet any time soon. There’s a way to square that circle, but it leaves the U.S. oil giant looking a lot different to European rivals, as reported by Reuters.
Wirth acknowledged that Covid-19 had hit demand but reckons the same fundamental drivers are in place. For him, the increase in global population from today’s 7.5 billion to a possible 9 billion by 2040 means energy demand will grow, and he thinks the oil sector’s percentage contribution will remain similar to what it is now. By contrast, the UK’s BP said in September that it envisaged its fossil fuel production dropping 40% by 2030.