MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp, an American multinational energy corporation, said that its oil and gas business activity is set for a year over year drop in the second quarter as lower crude prices and equipment maintenance takes a toll, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
In an interim earnings statement, Chevron, the second largest United States oil company in market value after Exxon Mobil Corp, reported steep drops in the average prices it gets for its oil production. United States natural gas prices were up, but Chevron's production is tilted towards crude.
Chevron's interim report, generally considered an earnings bellwether for the United States oil and gas industry, shows that Exxon and other producers might have been stung by the steep drop in oil prices in April amid concerns about the slow global economy.
Overall, Chevron produced 2.57 MMbpd of oil and natural gas in April and May, down 2.1% from its average production rate in the full second quarter of 2012. The report compares the first two months of the current quarter to the entire second quarter of 2012 and all of the first quarter of 2013.
Production was flat in the United States, but output in its international operations during April and May was 1.91 MMbpd, down 2.8% from the year before because of maintenance work in Kazakhstan, Australia and Nigeria. Demand for oil and gas also fell in Thailand, Chevron said.
As MRC imported previously, Chevron Corp. has completed repairing and rebuilding equipment in its Richmond refinery (California) that was damaged in a fire last year.
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States, and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. Chevron is one of the world's six "supermajor" oil companies.
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