Chevron Corp. reported earnings of $2.6 billion for this year’s third quarter compared with $4 billion in third-quarter 2018.
Included in the current quarter was a tax charge of $430 million related to a cash repatriation.
Foreign currency effects increased earnings in the third quarter by $74 million.
Sales and other operating revenues in the third quarter were $35 billion compared with $42 billion in the year-ago period.
Upstream
Worldwide net production was 3.03 million boe/d in the third quarter, an increase of 3% from 2.96 million boe/d a year ago. US upstream operations earned $727 million in the quarter compared with $828 million a year earlier. The decrease was mainly because of lower crude oil and natural gas realizations, the absence of third-quarter 2018 asset sale gains, higher operating expenses, and higher tax items. These decreases were partially offset by lower exploration and depreciation expenses because of the absence of the third quarter 2018 write-off of the Tigris project in the Gulf of Mexico, and higher crude oil and natural gas production.
Net production of 934,000 boe/d in the third quarter was up 103,000 boe/d from a year earlier. Production increases from shale and tight properties in the Permian basin were partially offset by normal field declines in the base business. The net liquids component of production in the quarter increased 11% to 726,000 boe/d, while net natural gas production increased 17% to 1.24 bcfd vs. last year’s third quarter. Third quarter unconventional net production in the Permian basin was 455,000 boe/d, representing growth of 35% compared with a year ago.
International upstream operations earned $1.98 billion in the third quarter compared with $2.55 billion a year ago. The decrease in earnings was mostly because of lower crude oil and natural gas realizations and lower crude oil volumes, partially offset by lower depreciation and tax expenses. Foreign currency effects had a favorable impact on earnings of $91 million between periods.
Net production of 2.1 million boe/d in the quarter was down 26,000 boe/d from a year earlier. Production increases from Wheatstone and other major capital projects were more than offset by normal field declines and the effect of asset sales. The net liquids component of production decreased 3% to 1.1 million boe/d in this year’s third quarter, while net natural gas production of 5.97 bcfd was essentially unchanged from a year ago.
Downstream
Chevron’s US downstream operations earned $389 million in this year’s third quarter compared with $748 million a year earlier. The decrease was because of higher operating expenses—primarily turnaround and maintenance costs—and lower margins on refined product sales. Refinery crude oil input in the quarter increased 8% to 992,000 b/d from the year-ago period, primarily due to the acquisition of the Pasadena, Tex., refinery.
International downstream operations earned $439 million in the quarter compared with $625 million a year earlier. The decrease was largely because of the absence of 2018 gains from the southern Africa asset sale, partially offset by higher margins on refined product sales. Foreign currency effects had a favorable impact on earnings of $34 million between periods.
Refinery crude oil input of 625,000 b/d in the quarter decreased 85,000 b/d from the year-ago period, mainly because of the sale of the company’s interest in the Cape Town refinery in third-quarter 2018 and crude unit maintenance in this year’s third quarter at the Singapore Refining Co.
