Chevron profit fell 32 per¬cent in the fourth quarter of 2013 on lower oil and gas production and lower prices for refined fuels relative to the cost of crude.
Chevron Corp. reported net in¬come of $4.93 billion on revenue of $53.95 billion for the final three months of 2013. That’s down from net income of $7.25 billion on revenue of $56.25 billion during the same period of 2012.
Despite the US oil and gas boom, Chevron’s US domestic production fell 4 percent in the quarter as increases
Chevron’s international production fell 3 percent in the quarter.
Chevron, based in San Ramon, California, has been championed by investors in recent years for provid¬ing the best growth among major integrated oil companies. But growth stalled in 2013 even though Chevron spent $41.9 billion on new projects around the world in 2013, a record for the company, up from $34.2 bil¬lion in 2012 and the company said that production would rise less than 1 percent in 2014. Better growth is now expected in 2015 and 2016.
Chevron’s refining earnings fell 58 percent compared with a year ago, because the prices received for refined fuels and chemicals were low compared to the cost of the crude oil used to make them.
Refining margins did improve slightly compared to the third quar¬ter which suggests the market may be improving for Chevron. For all of 2013, Chevron earned $21.42 billion, or $11.09 per share on revenue of $220.16 billion. That’s down from net income of $26.18 billion, or $13.32 per share, on revenue of $230.59 bil¬lion in 2012. in Pennsylvania and Texas were offset by declining production in older fields.
