Earnings in the 2008 quarter included a gain of approximately $600 million on an upstream asset-exchange transaction. Foreign-currency effects reduced earnings [image-nocss] in the 2009 quarter by $67 million, compared with a benefit to income of $478 million a year earlier. Full-year 2009 earnings were $10.48 billion ($5.24 per share, diluted), down 56% from $23.93 billion ($11.67 per share, diluted) in 2008.
Sales and other operating revenues in the fourth quarter 2009 were $48 billion, compared with $43 billion in the year-ago quarter. For the full-year 2009, sales and other operating revenues were $167 billion, vs. $265 billion in 2008. The decrease in the 12-month period was primarily due to lower prices for crude oil, natural gas and refined products.
"In this challenging environment, Chevron's successes in operational reliability and cost management made valuable contributions to our bottom line," Watson said. "Our financial strength enabled continued investment in our excellent portfolio of capital and exploratory projects and an increase in the annual dividend on our common shares for the 22nd consecutive year.
"In our downstream business, our operated refineries continued to run reliably during the fourth quarter. However, this operational success did not offset the effects of low margins on the sale of gasoline and other refined products due to weak demand and excess supply worldwide," continued Watson.
Watson said on-going, aggressive cost-management efforts companywide resulted in about a 15% decrease in operating, selling, general and administrative expenses in 2009 compared with the previous year.
Worldwide net oil-equivalent production was 2.78 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter 2009, up 238,000 from 2.54 million barrels per day in the 2008 fourth quarter. Production for the full year 2009 averaged 2.70 million barrels per day, an increase of 7% compared with 2.53 million barrels per day in 2008.
The company's average sales price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids was approximately $67 in the 2009 quarter, compared with $49 a year ago.
U.S. downstream operations lost $345 million in the fourth quarter 2009, compared with earnings of $1.03 billion a year earlier. The decline was mainly the result of weaker margins on the sale of gasoline and other refined products.
Refined-product sales of 1.35 million barrels per day were down 60,000 barrels per day from the fourth quarter of 2008, mainly due to weaker demand for jet fuel and gas oils. Branded gasoline sales decreased 2% to 595,000 barrels per day, also due to weaker demand.
Chevron Corp., San Ramon, Calif., is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. With approximately 62,000 employees worldwide, Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and other energy products; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels and other renewables.
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