USA: Chevron Reports Fourth Quarter Net Income of USD 5.1 Billion

Chevron Corporation reported earnings of $5.1 billion ($2.58 per share – diluted) for the fourth quarter 2011, compared with $5.3 billion ($2.64 per share – diluted) in the 2010 fourth quarter.

Full-year 2011 earnings were $26.9 billion ($13.44 per share – diluted), up 41 percent from $19.0 billion ($9.48 per share – diluted) earned in 2010.

Sales and other operating revenues in the fourth quarter 2011 were $58 billion, up from $52 billion in the year-ago period, mainly due to higher prices for crude oil and refined products.

“Chevron had an outstanding year financially,” said Chairman and CEO John Watson, “with record earnings and cash flow. This reflects our exceptionally strong upstream portfolio, as well as higher 2011 crude prices. Full-year earnings also benefited from improved downstream sales margins. Our financial strength enabled us to both invest in our development projects and to acquire several new resource opportunities. At the same time, we raised the annual dividend twice and increased outlays for our common stock repurchase program. Beyond our strong financial performance, we also had an outstanding year in terms of oil and gas reserves replacement.”

Watson continued, “In the fourth quarter, we took another important step forward in our efforts to commercialize the company’s significant natural gas resources with the start of construction at the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Australia. We also recently announced two additional natural gas discoveries in the Carnarvon Basin that will help underpin future LNG expansion opportunities. At the same time, we ramped up production to over 330 million cubic feet per day at the Platong II natural gas project in the Gulf of Thailand.”

Watson commented that the company added approximately 1.67 billion barrels of net oil-equivalent reserves in 2011. These additions, which are subject to final reviews, equate to 171 percent of net oil-equivalent production for the year. “The Wheatstone Project was the largest component of our reserve adds this year,” noted Watson, “and we continued to build legacy positions with additions from acquisitions in the Marcellus Shale and multiple development projects in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.” The company will provide additional details relating to 2011 reserve additions in its Annual Report on Form 10-K scheduled for filing with the SEC on February 23.

“In the downstream business, we successfully completed the second year of a multiyear plan to improve returns,” Watson added. Efforts continued on streamlining the asset portfolio, with completion of the sale of refining and marketing assets in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including the Pembroke Refinery. The company also completed the sale of its marketing businesses in five countries in Africa, and its fuels marketing and aviation businesses in 16 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The company purchased $1.25 billion of its common stock in the fourth quarter 2011 under its share repurchase program. At the end of the year, balances of cash, cash equivalents, time deposits and marketable securities totaled $20.1 billion, up $3 billion from the end of 2010. Total debt at December 31, 2011 was $10.2 billion, down $1.3 billion from a year earlier.

UPSTREAM

Worldwide net oil-equivalent production was 2.64 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter 2011, down from 2.79 million barrels per day in the 2010 fourth quarter. Production increases from project ramp-ups in Thailand, the United States, Nigeria and Brazil, and new volumes stemming from acquisitions in the Marcellus Shale were more than offset by normal field declines, maintenance-related downtime and a 25,000 barrels per day negative effect of higher prices on entitlement volumes.

The company’s average sales price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids was $101 in the fourth quarter 2011, up from $76 a year ago. The average sales price of natural gas was $3.62 per thousand cubic feet, compared with $3.65 in last year’s fourth quarter.

Net oil-equivalent production of 661,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter 2011 was down 37,000 barrels per day, or 5 percent, from a year earlier. The decrease in production was associated with normal field declines and maintenance-related downtime. Partially offsetting this decrease was new Marcellus Shale production and increases at the Perdido project in the Gulf of Mexico. The net liquids component of oil-equivalent production decreased 7 percent in the 2011 fourth quarter to 447,000 barrels per day, while net natural gas production decreased 1 percent to 1.29 billion cubic feet per day.

International upstream earnings of $4.13 billion increased $215 million from the fourth quarter 2010. Higher realizations for crude oil increased earnings between quarters. This benefit was partly offset by higher tax charges, lower volumes and higher operating expenses. Foreign currency effects had little net impact on earnings in the 2011 fourth quarter, compared with a decrease of $53 million a year earlier.

The average sales price for crude oil and natural gas liquids in the 2011 fourth quarter was $101 per barrel, up from $79 a year earlier. The average price of natural gas was $5.55 per thousand cubic feet, compared with $4.81 in last year’s fourth quarter.

Net oil-equivalent production of 1.98 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter 2011 was down 108,000 barrels per day from a year ago. Production increases from project ramp-ups in Thailand, Nigeria and Brazil were more than offset by maintenance-related downtime, normal field declines, and a 25,000 barrels per day negative effect of higher prices on entitlement volumes. The net liquids component of oil-equivalent production decreased 7 percent to 1.37 million barrels per day, while net natural gas production declined 2 percent to 3.66 billion cubic feet per day.

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Subsea World News Staff , January 27, 2012