Chevron posts $588 million fourth-quarter loss

Jan. 29, 2016
Chevron Corp. ended 2015 with the company’s first quarterly loss since 2002, posting full-year earnings of $4.6 billion, compared with earnings of $19.2 billion in 2014.

Chevron Corp. ended 2015 with the company’s first quarterly loss since 2002, posting full-year earnings of $4.6 billion, compared with earnings of $19.2 billion in 2014.

A fourth-quarter loss of $588 million was down sharply from earnings of $3.5 billion in fourth-quarter 2014, reflecting a $1.95-billion loss from its US upstream business, partially offset by international upstream earnings and downstream earnings in the US and abroad.

“We’re taking significant action to improve earnings and cash flow in this low-price environment,” said John Watson, Chevron chairman and chief executive officer. “Operating expenses and capital spending were reduced $9 billion in 2015 from 2014, and I expect similarly large reductions again in 2016. In addition, asset sales proceeds were $6 billion in 2015, with additional sales planned for 2016 and 2017.”

Chevron last month reported a planned 24% reduction in 2016 capital and exploratory expenditures to $26.6 billion (OGJ Online, Dec. 20, 2015).

Net production for the company during 2015 totaled 2.62 million boe/d, an increase of 2% from the prior year and within the range of the year’s production guidance. The company added 1.02 billion boe in proved reserves.

The largest additions were from production entitlement effects in several locations and drilling results for the Permian basin in the US and the Wheatstone project in Australia (OGJ Online, Dec. 22, 2015).