00:00We're blessed with an abundance of resources in this hemisphere,
00:03and I do think you'll see this country and this hemisphere become a more important part of the global energy
00:08system.
00:08Do you see that right now happening with LNG, given how much Qatar has been taken offline?
00:13Certainly the U.S. is in the midst of it. It's already the biggest LNG producer in the world,
00:18and there are any number of projects that are advancing here along the Gulf Coast.
00:22If we can deliver those projects, deliver the supply, avoid some of the things that, again,
00:29Secretary Wright mentioned that an export ban would send a bad signal,
00:32because if we want to be a reliable supplier, you don't want to put that question in people's minds.
00:37So I think we're blessed with a lot of gas in this country that will underpin not only our economy,
00:43but the global economy for decades and decades to come.
00:46Given the things you mentioned, other countries looking at pipelines,
00:50finding ways to mitigate being reliant on the Middle East,
00:53do you think in the future we could see the straighter of her most being something that's nice to have,
00:56not need to have for the global energy landscape?
01:01There's a lot of assumptions you would make to get there.
01:04I mean, the Middle East is – the straighter of her most, you can think of it as the central
01:09artery
01:09in the global energy system right now, and it's been cut off.
01:12So you come from a health standpoint, it's like having a heart attack.
01:16So finding a way to be healthier, have a system that's not as reliant on that, I think is important.
01:24I think you'll see steps taken to achieve that.
01:28I still think you'll see ships flowing through there.
01:30It'll be an economic way.
01:32The routes are – you know, getting oil on ships and to destinations is a very efficient way to do
01:39that.
01:40And so – but I think you'll see optionality and alternatives that emerge in the system
01:44so there's not as much single-point, you know, risk concentrated in the straight.
01:50Has Chevron thought about rethinking the presence that you have in the Middle East because of this?
01:55We have less exposure than some of our large piers.
01:59We produce oil in an area called the partition zone that is shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,
02:05petrochemicals in Saudi and Qatar, natural gas in Israel.
02:11But it's 5 percent of our production.
02:14Others in our industry are 20 percent exposed.
02:17So we actually are looking at some opportunities to go into the Middle East.
02:21The risks are very clear, and there are some risks that I think people would view differently today.
02:26But the terms are also better than they've historically been.
02:29The Middle East has been a tough place to get a good return on your investment.
02:33And countries there have been willing to engage in negotiations that offer what we view as a fair balance of
02:41returns for investors.
02:44And so we've made some deals there over the last year or two and are in discussions with others.
02:49And so we may actually, over time, have a little more Middle East exposure in our portfolio.
02:53We'll see you next time.
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