Chevron Extends Losses as Reeling Prices Prompt Writedown
- No. 3 oil explorer loses money for third straight quarter
- Production from wells fails to match analysts’ estimates
What Went Wrong for Big Oil This Quarter?
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Chevron Corp. extended its longest losing streak in more than a quarter century, missing profit and production expectations as a glut-driven price collapse forced a writedown of the value of oil and natural wells.
The company posted a surprise loss of $1.47 billion, or 78 cents a share, compared with profit of $571 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier, San Ramon, California-based Chevron said in a statement on Friday. Analysts had expected the world’s third-largest oil explorer by market value to earn anywhere from 19 to 41 cents a share. Output from Chevron’s wells fell 3.4 percent below the average estimate.