speech

2009 Annual Meeting Remarks by David J. O'Reilly

David J. O'Reilly

By David J. O'Reilly, Chairman and CEO
Chevron Corporation

Summary Remarks

San Ramon, California, May 27, 2009

As you've seen, we're delivering on our commitments, focusing on long-term growth, managing our costs and getting results.

Now, I'd like to talk about succeeding through time, getting results the right way and, most important, the people of Chevron.

Today, the world is mired in recession. Like everyone else, we're feeling the effects. Demand for energy is slack. But eventually, world economies will grow. Population growth, industrialization and the demand for rising living standards all but ensure it.

Experts say that by 2030, energy demand will grow as much as 30 to 40 percent.

And when the world starts growing, it will need all the energy it can get. That means both fossil fuels and renewables. And that means using all of it efficiently.

We'll be there to supply it — not only through our growing production of conventional fuels, but through our interests in renewables and unconventional energy as well.

We're the world's largest producer of geothermal energy. We're one of California's largest installers of solar panels. And through our Catchlight joint venture, we're developing biofuels from nonfood plant sources.

Chevron's been in business for 130 years — through 13 major recessions. It's no accident we're still in business today. We look past the downturns to keep our focus on long-term growth.

We focus on another constant, too. And that's our values. Our values are embodied in The Chevron Way. It's a single document, a set of principles that does not change.

Distilled to a phrase, The Chevron Way is about getting results the right way. It embodies how we think, how we act. It drives how we work with each other, with partners and with communities. And it makes a difference.

We have many examples. Here are a few:

We're the first Corporate Champion of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This public-private partnership was created by the United Nations. We fund programs to eradicate these diseases in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa. And our health care staff of 700 helps implement these programs.

We bring education to remote villages. Our partnership with the Discovery Channel supports 55 learning centers in Angola, Venezuela, South Africa and Nigeria. We created two polytechnic institutes in Indonesia that provide job training and livelihoods to thousands. Our latest, opened in Banda Aceh four years after the tsunami, is a partnership with the USAID.

And in 2004, we and our partners launched the NovoBanco microlending bank to spur entrepreneurship among Angola's low-income households. The bank is very successful: It serves more than 31,000 customers and, last year, made more than $10 million in loans.

These community partnerships, and many more I haven't mentioned, share two things in common: They seek results the right way, and they seek results that are sustainable.

As you've heard, this year Chevron celebrates its 130th year in operation. That's a rare achievement. It has been accomplished by generations of Chevron people. They have been innovators, problem solvers and partners. They've looked into the future to grasp what the world needs. Then they've turned that vision into reality.

That's 130 years of getting results the right way.

Thank you.

Published: May 2009