FX.co ★ Chevron posts $6.6 billion loss in Q4 2019

Commodity markets are under great pressure these days due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Besides, some major oil producers are going through hard times which adds up to the overall difficult situation. For Instance, Chevron Corp., the US second largest oil producing company, posted massive losses for the fourth quarter of 2019 due to $10.4 billion worth of write-offs related to shale gas production. In the period from October to December 2019, Chevron announced a $6.6 billion loss or a drop to $3.51 per share. The company’s revenue of $36.35 for the reported period was down by 14% compared to the previous year’s results of $42.352. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.45 per share whereas analysts expected it to be $1.47 per share with the revenue of $38.96 billion. The company’s total earnings for 2019 reached $2.924 billion compared with $14.352 billion in 2018. On Friday, shares of the oil producer slid by 3.1%. Over the past 3 months, the company’s capitalization volume has decreased by 4.1%. In December 2019, Chevron’s management said that it expected to write down the value of its assets from $10 billion to $11 billion due to the downwardly revised commodity prices. In particular, the company’s shale gas production in Appalachia and deep-water projects in the Gulf of Mexico (Big Foot project) were considered to be unprofitable. Canadian LNG project Kitimat has also incurred losses. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the company's oil output amounted to 3.08 million barrels per day, almost unchanged over the year. In terms of the oil field exploration and oil production, Chevron logged a net loss of $6.734 billion over the reported period. At the same time, net profit in the refinery and sales was down by $672 million from the previous $859 million, Chevron Corp. reports.