Chevron doubling down on offshore investments

July 29, 2022
Chevron more than doubled investment compared to last year to grow its energy business lines via its acquisition of Renewable Energy Group, sanctioning the Ballymore project in the GoM and advancing its CCS projects.

Offshore staff

SAN RAMON, Calif.  Chevron Corp. reported earnings of $11.6 billion for second-quarter 2022, compared with $3.1 billion in second-quarter 2021.

Included in the current quarter were charges associated with an early contract termination of $600 million, pension settlement costs of $11 million and a gain on asset sales of $200 million, according to the company's second-quarter 2022 results report. Sales and other operating revenues in second-quarter 2022 were $65 billion, compared to $36 billion in the year-ago period.

“Second quarter financial performance improved as we delivered a return on capital employed of 26 percent,” said Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chairman and CEO.

The company strengthened its balance sheet, lowering its debt ratio to under 15% and increased the top end of its annual share repurchase guidance range to $15 billion, according to the report.

“We more than doubled investment compared to last year to grow both traditional and new energy business lines,” Wirth added. 

Offshore investments

This investment includes total capital and exploratory and acquisition-related expenditures as Chevron closed its acquisition of Renewable Energy Group Inc. and completed the formation of a renewable fuels joint venture with Bunge North America Inc. 

During the second quarter, the company also sanctioned the Ballymore project in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico (GoM), which is expected to require a gross investment of about $1.6 billion. The field is planned to be produced through an existing facility with allocated capacity of 75,000 bbl/d of crude oil.

The company also advanced its carbon capture and storage (CCS) business this quarter by launching a CCS project aimed at reducing the carbon intensity of its upstream operations in California and forming an expanded joint venture to develop the Bayou Bend CCS hub in Texas, with the goal of it becoming one of the first offshore CCS projects in the US.

Further, leveraging the company’s growing US natural gas production and its global LNG value chain, Chevron signed agreements to export 4 MMtonnes per year of LNG out of the US Gulf Coast, commencing in 2026.

07.29.2022

Photo by Stuart Conway; Courtesy Shell
Courtesy CGG's "Technologies & Solutions Providing unique perspectives on our planet" presentation
Courtesy moreld ross offshore
Photo 177418247 © Anon Luengwanichprapa | Dreamstime.com