Natural gas demand will likely outpace expectations as electricity consumption surges from artificial intelligence and data centers, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CNBC on Monday.
"It's a little hard to quantify right now because this is evolving so quickly on the AI side," Wirth told CNBC's Sara Eisen at the Milken Institute's Global Conference in Los Angeles.
"But I think demand for natural gas is likely to be higher than what people have been estimating up until now."
Wirth said the move to electrify the nation's vehicle fleet, heating and manufacturing as well as the increase in demand from data centers will require reliable and affordable backup power generation.
Wind and solar offer affordable power in some regions, but they still face challenges in generating enough electricity to meet peak demand because they rely on variable weather conditions, the Chevron CEO said.
Persons:
Mike Wirth, Wirth, CNBC's Sara Eisen
Organizations:
Chevron, CNBC, Milken Institute's Global Conference
Locations:
Los Angeles