- Chevron evaluates investment opportunities in Venezuela amid geopolitical changes
- Q4 profits exceed estimates despite lower crude prices, focus on cost-cutting
- Tengiz maintenance and weather impact Q1 production, expected to recover soon
HOUSTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Chevron's fourth-quarter profits fell but came in ahead of estimates as it focused on cutting costs and making its operations more efficient to contend with lower crude prices throughout 2025.
The only U.S. oil producer currently operating in Venezuela and now in the geopolitical spotlight after the U.S. capture and removal of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro this month, Chevron also said on Friday that it was evaluating more opportunities in the country.
Chevron's adjusted earnings for the three-month period ended December 31 were $1.52 per share, ahead of an LSEG consensus estimate of $1.45 per share. The figure was down from $2.06 a year before.
The company said it sees significant long-term potential in Venezuela.
"We have been a part of Venezuela’s past for more than a century. We remain committed to its present. And we stand ready to help it build a better future while strengthening U.S. energy and regional security," CEO Mike Wirth said in a statement.
The company currently produces 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Venezuela and could increase the figure by 50% within 18 to 24 months with additional U.S. government authorizations, Chevron CFO Eimear Bonner said in an interview.
She was reiterating comments made during a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and oil executives earlier this month.
Bonner added that the company would take a careful spending approach as it evaluated investment possibilities.
"As we look for opportunities to grow, we will stay disciplined around capital, just as we always are," she said.
Chevron has a venture funding model in Venezuela that enables the company to pay for its operations in the country with cash it generates there, Bonner said.
The Trump administration eased some sanctions on Venezuela on Thursday as it seeks to revitalize oil production there.
TENGIZ OUTAGE AND TURNAROUNDS TO HIT Q1 PRODUCTION
Scheduled maintenance and downtime - including at the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan and resulting from the attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which accounts for 80% of the country's oil exports - is expected to reduce first quarter production by 185,000 to 225,000 boepd, Chevron said.
The Tengiz field faced multiple disruptions over the past two months after several electrical fires and is now expected to reach full production within a week.
The recent winter storm in the U.S. also knocked out some crude output, with Chevron reporting some frozen equipment in the Permian Basin.
Chevron's total oil production was 4 million boepd during the fourth quarter, flat compared with the previous quarter, but up from last year after it purchased smaller oil firm Hess.
The fourth quarter results illustrated resilience in the business, with refining and international upstream production ahead of expectations, said Biraj Borkhataria, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
Chevron paid $12.8 billion in dividends in 2025 and repurchased $12.1 billion worth of shares, which came in at the low end of the company's guidance of between $10 billion and $20 billion.
Chevron expects production in 2026 to grow 7% to 10%, excluding asset sales, boosted in part by projects in Guyana and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Upstream earnings declined 30% year-over-year to $3 billion in the fourth quarter. Downstream earnings were $823 million, up from a loss of $248 million. The company noted higher margins on refined product sales.
Shares of Chevron were flat in pre-market trading.
Reporting by Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Edwina Gibbs
Source: Reuters