Chevron Shows Red in Third Quarter
California-based Chevron said October 30 it had a Q3 2020 net loss of $201mn, a sharp reversal from the same period a year ago, when earnings approached $2.6bn. Sales and other operating revenues fell to $24bn from $35bn.
“Third quarter results were down from a year ago, primarily due to lower commodity prices and margins resulting from the impact of Covid-19,” CEO Michael Wirth said. “The world’s economy continues to operate below pre-pandemic levels, impacting demand for our products, which are closely linked to economic activity.”
With pandemic impacts beyond its control, Wirth said Chevron continues to focus on what it can control – safe operations, capital discipline and cost management. “Compared to last year's third quarter, organic capital expenditures and operating expenses were down 48% and 12%, respectively,” he said.
Capital and exploratory expenditures were reduced to $2.6bn from just under $5bn, while operating expenses fell to $5.7bn from $6.4bn.
Globally, Chevron’s Q3 production averaged 2.83mn barrels of oil equivalent/d, down about 7% from a year ago. The decrease was largely due to curtailed production in response to lower commodity prices and to asset sales.
Net natural gas production worldwide fell to 6.76bn ft3/d from 7.2bn ft3/d, with higher US production more than offset by reduced production elsewhere. Sales of natural gas slipped to 9.3bn ft3/d from 9.9bn ft3/d.