Write-offs push Chevron into fourth-quarter 2019 loss

Chevron, the US-based energy company and the operator of the giant Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG projects in Australia, reported a slip in its quarterly profit impacted by $10.4 billion in write-offs. 

The company reported a $6.6 billion net loss for the fourth quarter of the year, which compares to $3.7 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.

Write-offs totaling $10.4 billion included Appalachia shale, Kitimat LNG, Big Foot and other projects, Chevron said in its quarterly report.

Full-year 2019 earnings were $2.9 billion, compared with $14.8 billion in 2018.

Sales and other operating revenues in fourth-quarter 2019 were $35 billion, compared to $40 billion in the year-ago period.

Chevron’s net oil-equivalent production was 3.08 million barrels per day in fourth-quarter 2019, unchanged from a year ago. Net oil-equivalent production for the full year 2019 was 3.06 million barrels per day, an increase of over 4 percent from 2.93 million barrels per day from the prior year.

The U.S. upstream recorded a loss of $7.5 billion in fourth-quarter 2019, compared with earnings of $964 million a year earlier. The decrease was primarily due to $8.2 billion in impairment charges primarily associated with Appalachia shale and Big Foot, the company said.

U.S. downstream operations earned $488 million in fourth-quarter 2019, compared with earnings of $256 million a year earlier. The increase was mainly due to higher margins on refined product sales and lower operating expenses.