ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the company's quarterly earnings results, state of the company's refinery business, impact of the Iran war, oil price trends, gas price outlook, and more.
What Darren Woods said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Darren Woods, ExxonMobil's CEO, discussed the global oil supply situation, emphasizing that Middle East resources must eventually flow through the Strait of Hormuz, though he avoided predicting timelines. He noted that while ExxonMobil engages with governments worldwide, European policymakers are not becoming more receptive; he highlighted an EU methane regulation effective January 2027 that he says no one in the industry can meet, with penalties of 20% of revenue, which would prevent ExxonMobil from importing oil, gas, or crude into the EU. Regarding Venezuela, Woods confirmed ongoing discussions with the government, having sent technical teams to evaluate opportunities, but stressed the need for structural reforms and investment guarantees. On pump prices, he identified a disconnect from crude prices due to refinery constraints, expecting prices to remain elevated until capacity is restored through the Strait or increased Chinese exports.
Key takeaways
EU methane regulation effective January 2027 is unmeetable by the industry, which will halt ExxonMobil's imports into the EU.
ExxonMobil will not knowingly break laws and will stop importing products to the EU if it cannot comply.
ExxonMobil is evaluating Venezuela opportunities with technical teams but requires structural reforms and investment guarantees.
Woods expects crude prices to rise only after flows are reestablished through the Strait of Hormuz or via Chinese exports.
0:09What's your assessment of where things stand and what that in turn means for the global supply of not just refined product, but of crude oil as well?
1:31Do you have ongoing conversations with the administration, with the US administration, as we're watching oil prices climb and prices at the pump climb?
2:16Are they more receptive now that other lines of some of their energy have been cut down?
To flow through the Strait, which is going to be critically important. But we've still got the Russia capacity that's been lost. And we'll have to see what the Chinese do with respect to exporting.
Darren, obviously, you and your team must be watching the Middle East very closely right now on a day by day, or maybe even hour by hour basis. What's your assessment of where things stand and what that in turn means for the global supply of not just refined product, but of crude oil as well?
Well, as you say, you know, it's kind of an evolving narrative every day. We haven't- we've gotten out of the business a long time ago trying to predict what's going to happen. Instead, make sure that the business is resilient to whatever comes our way. And I think we've demonstrated this quarter that irrespective of where things move, the company is ready to respond for that. And we've got a business that will be successful, kind of in the high markets and in the low markets. And so let's focus on that. What I would say, though, in the long term, that resource in the region has to get to market. The Strait has to open up. It is the main artery of supply for the world that powers economic growth everywhere. And so eventually those barrels are going to have to flow. And the only question is how long will it take to get to some resolution here so that the Strait opens up and that production can come back on in the Middle East. But I think, you know, medium to long term, the world needs that resource. And I think governments will find a way to make sure that resource is available to the world.
Do you have ongoing conversations with the administration, with the US administration, as we're watching oil prices climb and prices at the pump climb?
Well, because of the large footprint we have all around the world and the breadth of our operations, we try to make sure that not just the US administration, but, frankly, administrations all around the world and Europe and as well understand our perspective of what we see and how things are playing out so that they've got the best information to make policy decisions. So we very much stick in our lane with respect to here's what we see, here's how we think it could potentially play out and make sure that policy makers have our best thinking when they're putting together their decisions in the approach that they want to take moving forward.
Darren, I know we've spoken with you recently. You've been a little frustrated with some of the European lawmakers in particular, just about what they're doing to make it tougher to operate and do business there. Are they more receptive now that other lines of some of their energy have been cut down?
Unfortunately, no. I think, you know, I stay in pretty regular contact there. And frankly, what in fact, what you see happening is additional regulations coming out. They've got a methane regulation that comes out in January of 2027 that, frankly, nobody in the industry can meet. And so, products are going to stop being exported into, or they're going to not have the imports available to them because they've got a law that's coming into effect that, frankly, nobody can meet. And a penalty that's 20% of your revenue. And so I think they're doubling down on what is some very bad policy. And we've been trying to explain, particularly in a time like this, where the world is short product and the EU is in particularly short in products that you should have policies that open up trade and give you access to as much as possible, rather than continuing to try to constrict it. Today, we haven't seen a very good response there, but I tell you, they're heading down a path that doesn't have any real positive outcomes.
8 more exchanges in this transcript
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Woods, D. (2026, July 31). ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods: There's a disconnect between crude prices and pump prices [Interview transcript]. CNBC Television. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1147403/
MLA
Darren Woods. "ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods: There's a disconnect between crude prices and pump prices." CNBC Television, 31 Jul. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1147403/.
BibTeX
@misc{woods2026_1147403,
author = {Darren Woods},
title = {ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods: There's a disconnect between crude prices and pump prices},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, CNBC Television. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jul},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1147403/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
