Chevron said it expects fourth-quarter earnings to be below third-quarter figures, adversely affected by lower commodity prices, lower downstream margins and lower refinery utilization due to planned maintenance and construction activities worldwide.
In a trading statement, the group said U.S. liquids and natural gas production declined almost 1% from the third quarter, largely due to planned project activity--particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, which continued into December.
U.S. refinery input volumes and conversion capacity utilization decreased primarily due to planned downtime and a seasonal decline in the production of asphalt volumes.
During the fourth quarter, the Pascagoula refinery underwent a 75-day planned shutdown of its Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit, and returned to normal operations in mid-December, Chevron said.
The El Segundo refinery experienced major planned maintenance. Outside the U.S., refinery input volumes were also lower largely due to sizeable planned maintenance downtime at the Pembroke refinery, it added.