Chevron Corporation, a multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, has disclosed it will allocate $14 billion for upstream investments in 2024.
The company made this known in a budget update that saw the total capex planned for 2024 at between $18.5 billion and $19.5 billion. Meanwhile, the new allocated funds constitute 11% increase on 2023 spending.
Of the amount dedicated to upstream investment, Chevron plans to spend two-thirds on domestic projects. Of that sum, $6.5 billion will be spent on shale oil and gas, Chevron said. Almost all of that shale spending, or $5 billion, will go towards developments in the Permian.
At the same time, Chevron said it will allocate a quarter of its total U.S. investments for Gulf of Mexico projects, including the Anchor project scheduled to start commercial production in 2024. The Anchor project, which was greenlighted in 2019, is the first deepwater high-pressure oil development project in the region.
The company will also spend about $1.5 billion on offshore operations in Kazakhstan, with the sum constituting half of its affiliates budget for 2024.
Investments planned for the downstream segment are significantly smaller than the upstream total, at $1.5 billion, with 80% of this to be spent at home, Chevron also said.
Its 2024 budget and that of rival Exxon Mobil reflect the industry’s continuing rebound after pandemic-influenced pullbacks, recent acquisitions and carbon reduction initiatives. Exxon plans to spend between $22 billion and $27 billion annually through 2027.
While both are spending more, the combined sums are about half the combined $84 billion Exxon and Chevron spent in 2013, when oil prices often traded above $100 per barrel. The two are benefiting from higher energy prices and pandemic cost-cuts.
Chevron’s Planned Spending Includes Organic Capital Expenditure
Chevron’s planned spending includes between $15.5 billion to $16.5 billion in organic capital expenditure for consolidated subsidiaries, and another $3 billion for affiliates. About half of the affiliate spending is for Tengizchevroil’s project in Kazakhstan, Chevron said.
Chevron’s figure excludes any impact from its proposed acquisition of rival Hess Corp. That deal, which is expected to close next year, will push capital spending to between $19 billion and $22 billion, it said.
The oil producer in October agreed to buy Hess for $53 billion in stock to gain a bigger U.S. oil footprint and a stake in Exxon Mobil’s massive Guyana offshore oil discoveries.
“Included in the upstream and downstream budgets is approximately $2 billion in lower carbon capex to lower the carbon intensity of traditional operations and grow new energy business lines,” the company said, adding “Chevron’s Geismar renewable diesel expansion project is expected to start-up in 2024.”
In pursuit of its oil and gas expansion plans, Chevron in October took over Hess Corp. for $53 billion in stock. The acquisition has given the company access to the Stabroek Block in Guyana, where Hess and Exxon have tapped more than 11 billion barrels in oil reserves.
“We’re maintaining capital discipline in both traditional and new energies,” CEO Mike Wirth said. “These investments are expected to underpin durable free cash flow growth to support our objective of returning more cash to shareholders,” he added.
The company intends to increase share repurchases by $2.5 billion to the top end of its guidance range of $20 billion per year once the Hess deal closes.
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