Chevron Expands Global Gas Portfolio Amid Middle East Crisis

Chevron is expanding its global gas portfolio to meet growing demand from buyers concerned about energy security due to the crisis in the Middle East, said Freeman Shaheen, President of Global Gas. Global gas markets have experienced two major disruptions in the past four years as the Ukraine war in 2022 and the Iran conflict this year cut off supplies from top producers Russia and Qatar.

The company has about 20 million tonnes per annum of LNG supply capacity, comprising 16 million tonnes of net gas production from its projects and four million tonnes contracted from the US Gulf Coast that commenced in February this year. Chevron is looking to expand this portfolio by exploring opportunities in Argentina, the Mediterranean, Australia, and Africa.

Shaheen sees great prospects in Argentina with the development of crude and gas in that marketplace, as well as in the East Mediterranean. He also noted that the US-Iran war has reinforced the need for a diversified gas portfolio. Chevron already has significant operations in Australia, running the country's largest LNG project, Gorgon.

The company is weighing opportunities against investments in Venezuela, where Chevron and its partners would invest more than $7 billion to double oil output by 2031. Shaheen stated that everything will be analyzed in their project queue and ranked accordingly.