Oil Majors Predict Persistently High Fuel Prices Amid Ongoing Iran Conflict
Top US oil producers ExxonMobil and Chevron are warning of continued high fuel prices due to the ongoing Iran war, which is causing major energy disruptions. Both companies reported large jumps in second-quarter refining profits as declining fuel stockpiles combined with curtailed exports from China and refinery outages in Russia led to higher margins.
According to Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, 'We're going to see some upward pressure on product pricing … into the third quarter and perhaps beyond that.' Demand for distillates including diesel and heating oil is unlikely to decline over the long term.
ExxonMobil's CEO Darren Woods emphasized the importance of shipping resuming through the Strait of Hormuz to supply more crude to the market. 'The utilization that we've seen can't be sustained for the long term,' he said on CNBC.