Reduced output blunts price impacts for Chevron in Q4
Global major Chevron reported modest Q4 2021 net earnings of $5.1bn on January 28, reversing a year-ago loss of $665mn, mostly due to weaker than expected oil and natural gas production that offset surging international oil and gas prices.
Chevron’s Q4 oil and gas production was 3.12mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe)/day, down 5% from the previous year. Chevron relinquished its Indonesian production licence in 2021 causing a 181,000 boe/d drop in international output.
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“In 2021, we delivered record-free cash flow and accelerated our progress towards a lower carbon future,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said. “We’re an even better company than we were just a few years ago. We’re more capital and cost-efficient, enabling us to return more cash to shareholders.”
Chevron's free cash flow for the year surged to a record $21.1bn from $1.7bn in 2020, supporting a 4% bump in quarterly dividends year-on-year and $1.4bn in share repurchases. Earlier this week, it raised its quarterly dividend another 6%, to $1.42/share, and guided 2022 share buybacks to the top end of its $3-$5bn guidance range.
Chevron reported full-year 2021 earnings of US$15.6bn compared with a loss of US$5.5bn in 2020. The company reported adjusted earnings of US$15.6bn in 2021 compared to adjusted earnings of US$172mn in 2020
Chevron’s net production grew in 2021 to a record 3.10mn boe/d primarily due to additions from assets in the Permian Basin, the Gulf of Mexico and Australia.