Econ 101. As one interviewer says, “a clinic.”
A view into the very sharp but highly geo-fenced mind of a fossil CEO, Chevron’s Mike Wirth.
He confirms right at the top that current pricing for oil reflects more wishful thinking than reality.
What clicked was when he said “..the US has come to the rescue of some of our allies around the world, we’re exporting crude at record levels, we’re exporting products to Europe, in particular..and so what that means is that products that might otherwise be used in the US are being highly valued elsewhere, so we’re seeing flows in that direction…”.
Translation: “The war our boy started in the Middle East is a catastrophe for our friends and allies, but we are willing to sell our product to them at higher prices, while stiffing the Americans who we spent billions convincing to vote against their own interests, resulting in record earnings for us.”
“So, no sweat, it’s all good. We make money no matter what happens.”
He notes that supplies are tight and refineries are running at full capacity, peak demand season is coming. Shortages could begin to show up soon.
Indicators flashing red.
I’ve often complained about how mindless and simplistic business channel reporting is (e.g., tossing softballs to executives or industry analysts to make the viewers happy), but I’m still sadly surprised at questions like why Costco have lower prices and the guest having to explain the basic concepts of volume selling and loss leaders. (I know that interviewers often ask questions they know the answer to, just to have the interviewee provide the answer in their own words, but a lot of these talking heads seem to be truly clueless about the answer.)