Gas prices keep rising, but do big oil companies plan to drill more? Not so far

An oil drilling rig in the Permian Basin on March 13, 2022, in Midland, Texas. Joe Raedle/ hide caption toggle caption Joe Raedle/ Stay up to date with our Up First newsletter sent every weekday morning. On a call with investors last week, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth summed up his plans for oil production in four words: "Steady as she goes." Not much about oil markets have been "steady" for the past few months . The war in Iran caused an unprecedented disruption to global oil flows, as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to a near standstill and some production in the Persian Gulf had to shut down. Markets in Asia are facing increasingly dire shortages of fuel . Worldwide, crude oil prices have been on a roller coaster . But some of the world's biggest oil companies, in their quarterly reports to investors, are signaling that their planned response to this upheaval is to stay the course. They're largely sticking with the production and investment plans they charted before the war began — even though producing more oil might let them profit even more off higher-than-normal prices and help bring down gasoline costs for drivers. To market watchers, that's not shocking: When it comes to production decisions, "discipline" has been the buzzword for big oil companies for years now. That means being cautious and restrained, aiming for stable production or slow, steady growth, instead of impulsive moves. …