Double-digit growth in the Permian Basin spurred the Chevron Corp.’s fourth quarter 2022 earnings of $6.4 billion, which were a substantial hike over the $5.1 billion that the company made in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Last year’s fourth quarter saw $17 million in pension settlement costs and $1.1 billion in international upstream write-offs and impairment charges, said Chairman-CEO Mike Wirth from San Ramon, Calif.
“Sales and other operating revenues in the fourth quarter totaled $55 billion compared to $46 billion in the year-ago period and full-year 2022 earnings were $35.5 billion compared to $15.6 billion in 2021,” Wirth said.
“Chevron had an outstanding year, delivering record financial performance, producing more traditional energy and advancing lower carbon businesses. Free cash flow stood a record, beating our previous high in 2021 by more than $15 billion and enabling a strong dividend increase and a buyback of almost four percent of our shares.”
Wirth said American production was the company’s highest ever, led by double-digit growth in the Permian Basin. “Growth matters when it’s profitable,” he said, “and we took important steps in building new energy businesses.
“We successfully integrated the Renewable Energy Group’s people and assets into Chevron, combining the best of both companies’ technical and commercial capabilities, and we acquired rights to space for potential carbon capture and storage projects in Texas and Australia.”
Wirth said 2022 was complicated by “unique macroeconomic and geopolitical forces disrupting economies and the industries around the globe.”
Referring to the Tengizchevroil joint venture among Chevron, ExxonMobil, KazMunayGas and LukArco in Kazakhstan, he said, “The TCO project construction is largely complete and we’re starting up the fuel gas system.”
The CEO reported a strong focus on the commissioning and start-up of Chevron’s Wellhead Pressure Management Project by the end of this year to start the Kazakhstan field’s transition from high to low pressure.
“We announced a significant new gas discovery offshore at Egypt, which could build on our growing natural gas position in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said. “Our affiliate, CPChem, reached a final investment decision for two world-scale ethylene and derivative projects in Texas and Qatar.”
Vice President-Chief Financial Officer Pierre Breber reported $1.1 billion in write-offs and impairments in Chevron’s international upstream, or exploration and production, segment and negative foreign currency effects of over $400 million during the year.
“Record operating cash flows in combination with continued capital efficiency resulted in over $37 billion of free cash flow,” Breber said.
