Mike Wirth, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation has reported full-year 2021 earnings of $15.6 billion ($8.14 per share – diluted), compared with a loss of $5.5 billion ($(2.96) per share – diluted) in 2020. Included in 2021 were net charges for special items of $289 million, compared to net charges of $5.1 billion for special items in 2020
The organization at the weekend however reported earnings of $5.1 billion ($2.63 per share – diluted) for fourth quarter 2021, compared with a loss of $665 million ($(0.33) per share – diluted) in fourth quarter 2020.
Included in the fourth quarter were asset sale gains of $520 million, losses on the early retirement of debt of $260 million and pension settlement costs of $82 million. Foreign currency effects decreased earnings by $40 million. Adjusted earnings of $4.9 billion ($2.56 per share – diluted) in fourth quarter 2021 compares to adjusted earnings of $298 million ($0.16 per share – diluted) in fourth quarter 2020.
Sales and other operating revenues in fourth-quarter 2021 were $46 billion, compared to $25 billion in the year-ago period.
“In 2021, we delivered record-free cash flow and accelerated our progress towards a lower carbon future,” said Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chairman and chief executive officer.
“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.”
During 2021, Chevron increased its quarterly dividend per share by 4 percent to $1.34 and repurchased $1.4 billion of company stock, all while increasing return on capital employed to 9.4 percent and reducing debt by $12.9 billion.
The company raised its dividend per share an additional 6 percent to $1.42 earlier this week and guided first quarter 2022 buybacks to the top of its $3 to $5 billion annual guidance range.
Also last year, the company and its affiliates further strengthened its businesses by advancing the Future Growth Project and Wellhead Pressure Management Project in Kazakhstan and the Anchor Project in the Gulf of Mexico, integrating legacy Noble Energy people and assets while realizing more than double the initially announced synergies, signing an agreement to extend Block 0 concession in Angola, and starting up the olefins mixed-feed cracker and associated polyethylene units in South Korea.
Chevron’s net oil-equivalent production grew in 2021 to a record 3.10 million barrels per day. The company also added 1.3 billion barrels of net oil-equivalent proved reserves in 2021. These additions, which are subject to final reviews, equate to approximately 112 percent of net oil equivalent production for the year. The largest net additions were from assets in the Permian Basin, the Gulf of Mexico and Australia. The largest net reductions were from assets in Kazakhstan primarily due to higher prices and their negative effect on reserves. The company will provide additional details relating to 2021 reserves in its Annual Report on Form 10-K scheduled for filing with the SEC on February 24, 2022.
In 2021, the company made progress to advance its lower carbon future as it set targets to lower the carbon intensity of its operations, adopted a 2050 net zero aspiration for upstream scope 1 and 2 emissions, expanded its renewable fuels business, formed the Chevron New Energies organization that aims to grow hydrogen, carbon capture and offsets businesses, and tripled its associated planned capital investment to approximately $10 billion through 2028.
At year-end, balances of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $5.7 billion, a slight increase from the end of 2020. Total debt at December 31, 2021 was $31.4 billion, a decrease of $12.9 billion from a year earlier.
“We’re delivering greater value to stockholders today, while working to meet the world’s growing energy demands in a lower carbon future,” Wirth concluded.
UPSTREAM
Worldwide net oil-equivalent production was 3.12 million barrels per day in fourth quarter 2021, a decrease of 5 percent from a year ago. Worldwide net oil-equivalent production for the full-year 2021 was 3.10 million barrels per day, a slight increase from a year ago.
U.S. upstream operations earned $2.97 billion in fourth quarter 2021, compared with $101 million a year earlier. The improvement was primarily due to higher realizations, gains on asset sales, higher sales volumes and lower exploration expense, partially offset by higher employee benefit costs.
The company’s average sales price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids was $63 in fourth quarter 2021, up from $33 a year earlier. The average sales price of natural gas was $4.78 per thousand cubic feet in fourth quarter 2021, up from $1.49 in last year’s fourth quarter.
Net oil-equivalent production of 1.22 million barrels per day in fourth quarter 2021 was up 21,000 barrels per day from a year earlier. The increase was documented.
“In 2021, we delivered record free cash flow and accelerated our progress towards a lower carbon future,” said Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chairman and chief executive officer. “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.”
During 2021, Chevron increased its quarterly dividend per share by 4 percent to $1.34 and repurchased $1.4 billion of company stock, all while increasing return on capital employed to 9.4 percent and reducing debt by $12.9 billion. The company raised its dividend per share an additional 6 percent to $1.42 earlier this week and guided first quarter 2022 buybacks to the top of its $3 to $5 billion annual guidance range.
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