If it feels like a recession out there, you are likely not alone. But you may also be jumping at shadows, according to word from Mike Wirth, CEO of oil stock Chevron (CVX). Wirth noted things look fairly decent in the economy right now, and oil and gas demand is a fairly strong economic indicator by itself. The news was welcome enough, and Chevron stock surged up over 3% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
“There’s no signs that we see at this point that we are in or close to a recession.” That was the word Wirth gave in a CNBC interview. Though he did acknowledge that “…growth may be slowing,” a point that always required a certain amount of preparation, it had not yet advanced to full-blown recession territory.
Indeed, some of those recessionary signals may be false positives generated by the recent tariff actions. Though with demand pulling back in some places, that is commonly viewed as a good sign of a recession in the works. Basically, recessions mean people stay home more. They buy less gas, which means lower oil demand. And with signs that oil could hit $60 a barrel, onshore oil production in places like the Permian Basin are set to step back a notch as well.
Abandoning the Red Sea
The Red Sea, meanwhile, is starting to look like the Sea of Red Ink, at least for Chevron and others. Chevron and others have pulled out of their concession blocks, according to word from the petroleum ministry of Egypt, and largely for the same reason: there is nothing there. Thus, Chevron and its contemporaries will be looking to pivot to other parts in the Egypt area, reports note.
Egypt has been offering Red Sea concessions since 2019, reports noted. But with Egypt’s gas production on the decline—down from 4.6 billion cm of natural gas in early 2024 dropping to 3.6 billion in January 2025—it is small surprise that the oil companies are pivoting to the Mediterranean instead.
Is Chevron a Buy or Sell Today?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on CVX stock based on 13 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 11.7% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CVX price target of $169.46 per share implies 23.05% upside potential.
