The US energy group Chevron has released its preliminary 2020 results, posting a US$5.5bn loss in 2020, compared to US$2.9bn earnings in 2019. The group was hit by the pandemic and economic crisis and consequently reduced its capital spending by 35% from 2019 levels along with its operating costs. In October 2020, the group completed the acquisition of Noble Energy and divested its Appalachia natural gas business in December 2020.
In 2020, Chevron added 832 mboe of proved reserves, mainly through the acquisition of Noble Energy and from assets in Kazakhstan (net reductions from assets in Australia, Venezuela, and the Permian Basin and asset sales in Appalachia, in the United States). The group produced an average 3.08 mboe/d worldwide in 2020 (+1% on 2019) but the average prices for crude oil and NGLs were much lower at the end of 2020 (US$40/bbl in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to US$57/bbl in the same period of 2019). The global economic crisis contributed to reduced refining activities (-12% worldwide) and lower sales of oil products (-13.7% worldwide).