Royal Dutch Shell Plc  .com Rotating Header Image

Chevron says profit should top 4th-quarter levels

Reuters: Chevron says profit should top 4th-quarter levels

Wed Apr 9, 2008 6:18pm

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) should post higher first-quarter earnings than the previous quarter as record oil prices outweighed weak margins from refining and marketing, according to a report issued by the second-largest U.S. oil company on Wednesday.

Chevron said its oil and gas production in January and February was 2.61 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, basically flat with the fourth quarter, as higher international natural gas output offset shortfalls for oil.

Benchmark oil prices averaged a record of about $98 a barrel in the quarter, driving higher first-quarter earnings from Chevron’s exploration and production business. But it said profits from its refining and marketing business “are expected to remain at the low level recorded” in the fourth quarter.

Chevron earned $4.88 billion, or $2.32 a share, in the fourth quarter, but its profits from refining, marketing and transportation were off close to 80 percent at $204 million.

The company earned $4.84 billion from its exploration and production unit during the period.

Analysts, on average, expect the company to earn about $2.36 per share in the first quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company said its average realized price for a barrel of oil sold in the U.S. in January and February rose over 6 percent from the fourth quarter to $86.74. That compares to an average price of $51.60 per barrel in the year-earlier quarter.

Its international price for crude in those months rose to $83.36 per barrel from $80.43 per barrel in the fourth quarter.

Chevron’s U.S. natural gas prices for that period were up more than 15 percent from the previous quarter, while international natural gas prices rose 13 percent.

Its realized margins in the first quarter are expected to be lower than industry indicator margins due to refinery downtime and high crude oil prices, Chevron said.

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Related Blog Posts

Chevron outlines plans Mexico oil tap
Royal Dutch Shell plc.com
More on Gas Price Hearings, API Call, Chevron
Shopfloor.org: The Manufacturers Blog

© Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSWNAS729020080409?sp=true

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comment Rules

  • Please show respect to the opinions of others no matter how seemingly far-fetched.
  • Abusive, foul language, and/or divisive comments may be deleted without notice.
  • Each blog member is allowed limited comments, as displayed above the comment box.
  • Comments must be limited to the number of words displayed above the comment box.
  • Please limit one comment after any comment posted per post.