Chevron Corp Chief Executive John Watson sees demand for oil being destroyed in the United States as a result of higher gasoline prices and an underperforming U.S. economy.

We're seeing that right now, he said. If you look at the peak in U.S. oil consumption it was about 21 million barrels a day as little as about three years ago. It's now down to about 19 barrels a day ... and high prices are partially contributing to that.

The other component in the United States is a relatively weak economy, Watson added in an interview aired on CNBC on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Chevron