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Empresas y finanzas

Chevron says upstream curbed, refining stronger


    By Braden Reddall

    SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - CHEVRON (CVX.NY)Corp expects upstream production earnings to fall from the previous quarter due to lower prices and hurricanes, but said its refining performance would be much stronger.

    The second-largest U.S. oil company also said on Thursday its third-quarter profit would top the previous quarter's, as analysts expected. Its shares rose slightly after plunging 12.5 percent in regular trading amid a massive market sell-off that saw larger rival Exxon Mobil Corp drop 11.7 percent.

    "This is basically traders throwing everything overboard to prevent the whole ship from sinking," Fadel Gheit, oil analyst at Oppenheimer in New York, said of Exxon's drop.

    Chevron said in its interim third-quarter update that Gulf of Mexico storms were expected to have cut U.S. oil-equivalent production by about 150,000 barrels per day in September.

    In addition, Chevron said the third-quarter results would include an estimated $400 million in charges for the cost of toppled platforms, asset write-offs and initial expenses for repairs. This would be partly offset by a gain of about $350 million from asset sales.

    Chevron said third-quarter refining would improve significantly on the previous quarter, when it made a big downstream loss and its overall profit would top the second quarter, when it posted a record $5.98 billion net profit.

    Analysts expect Chevron to report a third-quarter net profit of $6.25 billion, or $3.24 per share, on revenue of $86.9 billion, according to averages on Reuters Estimates. Chevron said it would report the results on October 31.

    ConocoPhillips , the third-largest U.S. oil company, said last week that oil and natural gas production in the third quarter was flat to slightly lower than in the second quarter as hurricanes disrupted output.

    But on Wednesday, Marathon Oil Corp estimated third-quarter oil and natural gas production rose and its refining margins soared about 40 percent from year-earlier levels.

    U.S. crude oil prices averaged above $118 per barrel in the third quarter, or 57 percent up on the same quarter last year.

    Crude prices have since tumbled along with global economic prospects and dropped below $85 a barrel on Thursday for the first time in almost 12 months.

    Chevron said the price it received for U.S. crude in July and August rose more than $5 a barrel to an average of $119.20, while the benchmark rose about $1.50 on the previous quarter.

    Its average international price for liquid hydrocarbons fell slightly from the previous quarter, as did its average realizations for natural gas.

    U.S. production fell about 1 percent in the first two months of the quarter from the previous one to 695,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the San Ramon, California-based company said.

    Chevron shares plunged 12.5 percent to $64 on Thursday, but rose 40 cents after the close. The stock has now lost about 31 percent in 2008, while the Chicago Board Options Exchange's oil index has lost 40 percent in the same time.

    (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Andre Grenon)