Chevron’s Q4 profit dives

Chevron posted $3.5 billion in profit for the fourth quarter of 2014, a drop of 30 percent compared to a year ago and the company’s lowest since 2009.

Full-year 2014 earnings were $19.2 billion compared with $21.4 billion in 2013, the company said in a statement.

“Our 2014 earnings were down from the previous year, largely due to the sharp decline in crude oil prices,” said Chevron’s Chairman and CEO John Watson. “Improved downstream results and higher gains on asset sales related to our divestment program partially offset the effect of lower crude prices.”

“We had a number of operational successes in 2014,” Watson continued. “We had first production from the Jack/St. Malo and Tubular Bells deepwater developments in the Gulf of Mexico and
the Bibiyana gas expansion project in Bangladesh. In Australia, our Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects continue to reach important construction milestones. We also continue to make progress on our shale and tight resource developments in the Permian Basin, Argentina and Canada. At the same time, we had one of our best exploration years, with important discoveries in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Australia, West Africa and the Permian Basin, which add to our development queue for the future.”

Image: Chevron