Chevron is looking to expand its global liquefied natural gas portfolio from Argentina to the eastern Mediterranean and potentially Africa as repeated disruptions to major gas-producing regions push buyers to place a greater premium on security and diversity of supply.
The U.S. oil major currently has about 20 million metric tons per annum of LNG supply capacity, comprising roughly 16 million tons of net production from its own projects and another 4 million tons contracted from the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast supply began in February and is expected to ramp up over the next several years under existing agreements.
Freeman Shaheen, Chevron’s president of global gas, said the company intends to expand that portfolio as energy buyers reassess their exposure to geopolitical shocks and increasingly uncertain global gas markets.
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“What we’re seeing from this crisis is that it just reinforces the need for diversity, diversity of supply and diversity of different contracting structures,” Shaheen said in an interview on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Bangkok.
He added that buyers should avoid leaving themselves excessively exposed to spot markets, which lack the depth and liquidity of crude oil and refined-product markets.
The shift in thinking has been accelerated by two major disruptions to global gas supply in just four years. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 disrupted one of the world’s largest sources of pipeline gas, while this year’s conflict involving Iran has created another major shock for energy markets and affected supplies from major producers including Qatar.
For LNG buyers, the experience has reinforced the risks of depending too heavily on a small number of producing countries or relying on short-term purchases when markets become stressed.
Chevron Sees Opportunities from Argentina To The Mediterranean
Argentina is emerging as one of Chevron’s areas of interest as development of the country’s oil and gas resources accelerates.
“There’s great prospects out of Argentina with the development of crude and gas in that marketplace,” Shaheen said.
Chevron also sees the eastern Mediterranean as an attractive area for future gas development. In June, the company won approval to become operator and lead gas explorer in an offshore block off Greece, expanding its position in a region that has attracted increasing attention as Europe searches for alternatives to Russian energy supplies.
Shaheen did not specify which projects or countries in the eastern Mediterranean, Africa or Australia Chevron could pursue next.
He said the company would consider opportunities where the capital requirements, fiscal arrangements and regulatory frameworks provide sufficiently attractive economics.
“There’s going to be great opportunities over time,” he said, while emphasizing that projects would have to compete for capital against Chevron’s existing investment pipeline.
Africa could therefore become part of the company’s broader diversification strategy, but the region’s ability to attract Chevron capital will depend on whether individual projects can offer competitive returns alongside manageable regulatory and fiscal risks.
That qualification is important because LNG developments require enormous upfront investment and typically take years to bring into production. Geopolitical instability, taxes, contract terms, infrastructure constraints and delays can materially change the economics of projects before they begin generating revenue.
Venezuela Competes For Chevron’s Capital
Chevron’s LNG ambitions also have to be assessed against the competing demands of its broader global portfolio. The company and its partners are expected to invest more than $7 billion in Venezuela with the aim of more than doubling oil production by 2031. That creates a direct capital-allocation question. Even as Chevron sees opportunities in new gas-producing regions, those projects must compete for investment with large oil developments already in its pipeline.
“I’ve been hearing that Venezuela has a lot of capital that’s going to have to go that way coming up,” Shaheen said.
“Everything is going to get analyzed in our project queue and it gets ranked.”
The comment highlights the discipline required to translate the current enthusiasm for energy security into actual LNG investment. Higher geopolitical risk can increase the value of diversified supply, but it does not eliminate the need for projects to generate competitive returns.
Chevron already has a substantial LNG footprint in Australia, where it operates the country’s largest LNG project, Gorgon, as well as the Wheatstone project.
A significant portion of its Australian LNG supply is sold to Japan, one of the world’s largest LNG importers.
“Japan continues to be our home base, and we have nice structural opportunities into Singapore,” Shaheen said, adding that China and South Korea remain attractive markets.
Chevron agreed in 2024 to supply Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries with as much as 0.6 million tons of LNG annually beginning in 2028.
The existing Australian and U.S. supply positions give Chevron a foundation from which to add new sources rather than relying on a single emerging project or producing region.
LNG Buyers Are Changing How They Contract
The changing geopolitical environment is also altering the structure of LNG deals.
Shaheen said state-backed importers are increasingly willing to sign contracts with portfolio suppliers rather than relying primarily on government-to-government arrangements. That development could benefit large integrated energy companies such as Chevron, which can combine production from multiple countries and projects and offer customers greater diversification than a single-source producer.
For buyers, the appeal is about reliability rather than simply securing the lowest possible headline price. That shift could prove important as LNG markets become more global and as Asian importers attempt to balance long-term supply security with exposure to potentially cheaper spot cargoes.
India illustrates the tension.
Chevron is interested in supplying the country, but Shaheen said Indian buyers remain highly sensitive to price.
“I’d love to have a deal in India. It’s just they’re very, very headline-price driven,” he said.
“I think India is still evolving. There’s going to be great opportunities over time.”
India’s importance to the LNG market makes that evolution significant. The country is expected to remain a major source of future gas demand, but its buyers have traditionally had to balance the cost of imported LNG against domestic energy prices and competing fuels.
For Chevron, the broader opportunity is to build a portfolio that can serve different markets while spreading exposure across producing regions and contract structures.
The Middle East crisis has made that model more valuable, but it has also made the investment environment more demanding. LNG buyers may be willing to pay a premium for security, yet Chevron still has to decide where billions of dollars of capital can earn the strongest returns. That leaves Argentina, the eastern Mediterranean, Australia and potentially Africa competing not only for future gas demand but for a place in Chevron’s capital queue.
The result could be a more geographically diverse LNG market, with energy security becoming an important factor in investment decisions alongside production costs and long-term demand.