Chevron CEO: Oil, Gas Demand Will Remain Robust

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- Governments around the globe believe high energy prices are much scarier than global warming, meaning oil and gas will remain in demand for the foreseeable future, Chevron Corp. CEO John Watson told the Associated Press.

To meet that robust demand, Chevron is currently undertaking an enormous cycle of investment aimed at extracting oil and gas from wherever it hides, Watson told the AP.

Watson, who became CEO of Chevron in 2010, was formerly its vice chairman in charge of strategic planning, business development and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to saying demand for oil and gasoline will remain strong, he believes both can be produced at a price that can keep the world economy growing.

"We want to produce at a price our customers can afford, and I think there's ample resource to do that for the foreseeable future," Chevron's CEO said.

Watson continued during the interview that historically, the United States has had a "wonderful energy policy."

"We're blessed with a diversity of resources," he noted. "We have oil. We have gas. We have coal. We have nuclear. And renewables. And as a result, one of our biggest competitive advantages has been affordable energy. You need a strong economy and you need affordable energy to fuel that economy."

CSNews Online has reported often on the potential for compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas to become bona fide petroleum alternatives. According to Watson, natural gas will displace coal in power generation. He added that "[g]etting natural gas into the transportation fleet is harder."