PERMIAN BASIN — Chevron will maintain the production and investment plans it set before the war in Iran, Chief Executive Mike Wirth said, even as global supply disruptions ripple through energy markets. Major oil companies have said they will hold to the production and investment plans they charted before the war began.

"Steady as she goes," Wirth said. He said Chevron is focusing on recovering its previous losses in Venezuela rather than expanding production.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to a near standstill after the war in Iran, and production in the Persian Gulf shut down. The near closure of the Strait of Hormuz removed more than 10 million barrels per day from global markets. Markets in Asia are facing fuel shortages, and global crude oil prices have fluctuated widely.

For most of 2025, global crude oil prices hovered between $60 and $70 per barrel, and global oil supply exceeded demand before the war began. Companies have prioritized dividends and stock buybacks over increasing oil production due to investor pressure.

ExxonMobil is increasing production at the same rate it previously planned. ConocoPhillips is slightly increasing production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and its executives said they may adjust their production plans further later in the year. "Long-term value is created by companies that execute consistently across cycles," Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub said.

In a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, most oil executives expect U.S. production to increase by no more than 250,000 barrels per day this year, and by less than 500,000 barrels per day in 2027. By comparison, between 2021 and 2025, U.S. daily oil production increased by more than 500,000 barrels per day on average each year.

ExxonMobil and Chevron reported lower first-quarter earnings than in the same quarter last year. Both companies recorded paper losses on oil trading because they had locked in lower prices before prices spiked. Companies cannot report profits from oil sales until the barrels are physically delivered. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said the paper losses will be outweighed by gains from physical oil sales when the barrels are delivered.