By Shakrullah Owolabi
U.S supermajor, Chevron has posted full-year 2021 earnings of $15.6 billion, compared to a loss of $5.5 billion in 2020.
The oil firm also booked strong cash flow from operations of $29.2 billion and record free cash flow of $21.1 billion last year.
Chevron’s net oil-equivalent production grew in 2021 to a record 3.10 million barrels per day (BPD). The company also added 1.3 billion barrels of net oil-equivalent proved reserves in 2021, with the largest net additions in reserves coming from assets in the Permian Basin, the Gulf of Mexico, and Australia.
Chevron’s U.S. upstream operations booked earnings of $7.319 billion for 2021, compared to a loss of $1.6 billion for 2020. The international upstream business earned $8.499 billion last year, compared to a loss of $825 million in 2020.
Downstream operations also yielded earnings in 2021, with the U.S. downstream business earning $2.389 billion versus a loss of $571 million in 2020.
“We’re more capital and cost-efficient, enabling us to return more cash to shareholders,” Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Chevron raised its quarterly dividend by around 6 percent, putting it on track to make 2022 the 35th consecutive year with an increase in annual dividend payout per share.
Chevron’s stock rallied on Thursday to an all-time high of $136 but fell by 4 percent pre-market on Friday following the release of the results, which showed fourth quarter 2021 earnings below analyst estimates.
For the fourth quarter, Chevron booked adjusted earnings of $4.9 billion, or $2.56 per share, significantly higher than the adjusted earnings of $298 million, or $0.16 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2020.
Still, the Q4 2021 earnings per share fell well short of analyst expectations. The analyst consensus of the Wall Street Journal expected Chevron to post $3.12 per share earning.
