26 April 2013, Houston – Chevron Corporation, Friday, reported earnings of $6.2 billion for the first quarter 2013. This compares with $6.5 billion in the 2012 first quarter.
Sales and other operating revenues in the first quarter 2013 were $54 billion, down from $59 billion in the year-ago period, mainly due to lower prices for crude oil, the company said in a statement.
“Our first quarter earnings were strong,” said Chairman and CEO John Watson. “Our consistent financial performance has enabled us to significantly increase the dividend again, and fund major development projects that are the foundation of the company’s future growth in production, earnings and cash flows.”
“Our key development projects remain on track,” Watson added. “Construction is progressing well on the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects in Australia. Important milestones have been reached recently for our Jack/St. Malo and Big Foot deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico, and both remain on schedule for start-up in 2014.”
He said other recent upstream milestones include signing binding long-term Sales and Purchase Agreements with Chubu Electric Power Company for Wheatstone LNG in Australia, signing of agreement to acquire interests in two onshore natural gas blocks in the Cooper Basin, also in Australia and announcement of a natural gas discovery, Elfin-1, in the Carnarvon Basin in 50 percent-owned Block WA-268-P. also in Australia.
In the Republic of the Congo, Chevron reached final investment decision on the deepwater Moho Nord joint development during the period while in the United States, it announced a crude oil discovery at the Coronado prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico as well as successful production test of a St. Malo well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Chevron’s worldwide net oil-equivalent production was 2.65 million barrels per day in the first quarter 2013, up from 2.63 million barrels per day in the 2012 first quarter.
Production increases from project ramp-ups in the United States and Nigeria were largely offset by normal field declines, the company said.
Chevron also said U.S. upstream earnings of $1.13 billion in the first quarter 2013 were down $397 million from a year earlier. The decrease was primarily due to lower crude oil realisations and higher operating expenses.
The company’s average sales price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids was $94 in the first quarter 2013, down from $102 a year ago. The average sales price of natural gas was $3.11 per thousand cubic feet, compared with $2.48 in last year’s first quarter.
Net oil-equivalent production of 664,000 barrels per day in the first quarter 2013 increased 13,000 barrels per day, or 2 percent, from a year earlier.
The increase in production was primarily due to further ramp-up of projects in the Gulf of Mexico and the
Marcellus Shale in western Pennsylvania, United States.