Chevron is making a pretty direct pitch to drivers: extra Venezuelan crude is helping bring U.S. gas prices down, or at least keep them from climbing faster.
Misryoum newsroom reported that Andrew Walz, Chevron’s president of global refining, said the company is running its Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery around the clock to process crude from Venezuela. Walz framed it as the kind of practical supply change that can translate into relief at the pump, especially when global oil markets are tight.
Walz’s comments come as the war in Iran constrains global oil supplies and pushes U.S. gasoline prices up to their highest level since 2022. Misryoum editorial desk noted that, in that environment, Chevron is relying on a steady stream of imported oil—one tanker carrying 400,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude scheduled to supply the Mississippi refinery for four days. In Walz’s telling, this “new supply point” matters because it gives the company access to volumes it didn’t previously have.
“There’s a ship lowering prices in America,” Walz said, arguing that Chevron is helping both sides of the ledger: “bring revenue to Venezuela, and it’s helping Americans.” He also tied the move to the Trump administration’s recent shift on sanctions, saying it’s part of a broader effort to rebuild ties with Venezuela’s government while encouraging investment in the country’s oil sector.
Misryoum newsroom reported that the Trump administration earlier this month lifted sanctions on interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez as the U.S. seeks to rebuild ties with the country’s government. The move followed three months after U.S. forces seized Rodriguez’s predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife in a military raid. Since Maduro’s removal from power, Misryoum analysis indicates, the Trump administration has sought to incentivize U.S. investment in Venezuela’s oil sector, rolling back sanctions to allow American oil companies to spend on infrastructure and production.
Walz emphasized the larger point that energy reliability can’t be treated like an afterthought. “I think the lesson is that energy really matters, and it needs to be affordable and reliable,” he said. “And that’s why we have to keep investing in infrastructure, investing in capabilities, and companies like Chevron need to keep finding these products and getting them to their customers.”
For drivers, the message is simpler: without Venezuelan oil, Walz warned, Americans would be paying higher prices. “Less supply means higher prices,” he said. Misryoum editorial team stated that the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $4.12, up from $2.98 just before the Iran war, according to AAA. Somewhere in a parking lot not far from the refinery, you could probably hear the low thrum of idling engines—one of those ordinary sounds that somehow makes the price conversation feel even more immediate.
With U.S. energy costs surging, Walz also urged motorists and consumers to conserve. “People do need to conserve energy,” he said. “We should always be conserving energy, whether it’s your light switch or the miles you drive or what kind of car you buy.” He added that he’d encourage everyone to “hang in there and hopefully prices will be coming down soon,” even if that part depends on how quickly global supply and demand loosen.
Chevron and Venezuela also announced two deals this week to expand oil production in the country, with Walz saying Chevron plans to expand production in Venezuela by 50% over the next few years. Misryoum newsroom reported that Walz encouraged patience on conservation and investment at the same time—like the system can be both stabilized by new supply and nudged by consumers adjusting their habits, though the timing of any relief at the pump is still a bit uncertain.
Edited by Alain Sherter
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