'Wouldn’t expect us to be changing': Oil execs hand Trump a searing defeat on energy costs

Oil executives handed President Donald Trump a searing defeat in his effort to lower energy costs for Americans ahead of the midterms, according to a new report.

The Washington Examiner reported on Friday that executives from Exxon Mobil and Chevron said they have no plans to increase production, which could help lower pump prices. Their comments come after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright called on oil companies to increase their production earlier this month.

Exxon’s chief financial officer, Neil Hansen, has said the company has no plans to increase production because it is already operating in "high gear."

At the same time, Chevron’s finance chief Eimear Bonner said the company is planning to “grow free cash flow, not grow production.”

“You wouldn’t expect us to be changing our plans significantly on the back of eight weeks of disruption,” Bonner said.

Energy costs have skyrocketed since the Trump administration began the war in Iran. As of Saturday, the national average price of a gallon of gas stood at $4.43, up from $4.08 just a month ago, according to data from AAA.