- Chevron (NYSE:CVX) -0.2% premarket after reporting Q1 earnings that fell sharply from a year ago but much less than expected, as strength in the refining segment helped offset lower crude oil prices.
- CVX’s profits are better insulated than most oil producers because it also makes money from refining the fuel into gasoline and diesel; during Q1, downstream earnings, which include refining, doubled Y/Y to $1.42B from $710M.
- Meanwhile, Q1 earnings from E&P, or the upstream segment, fell to $1.56B from $4.31B a year earlier; U.S. upstream operations lost $460M compared to earnings of $912M in the year-ago quarter.
- CVX says it produced 2.68M bbl/day of oil in Q1, up 4% Y/Y, with the increase coming primarily from higher activity in the U.S., Bangladesh and Argentina.
- CVX's average sales price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids was $43 in Q1, down from $91 a year ago, and the average sales price of natural gas was $2.27/Mcf vs. $4.77 in last year's Q1.
- CVX continued cutting costs during the quarter, reducing operating expenses by 9%; Q1 capex declined to $8.6B from $9.4B a year ago.