A drop in production and refining margins hit Chevron’s bottom line as profits in its fourth quarter dropped 32% to £3billion.
Overall in 2013 the company’s earnings fell 18% on the prior year to £13billion.
“Global crude oil prices and refining margins were generally lower in 2013 than 2012,” said Chairman and CEO John Watson.
“These conditions, as well as lower gains on asset sales and higher expenses, resulted in lower earnings. We continue to have an advantaged portfolio, and we have maintained our industry-leading position in upstream earnings per barrel for the past four years.”
The company’s oil and natural gas production fell 3.4% to 2.6 million barrels in the quarter, the company reported.
Mr Watson said that “major capital projects” currently under construction were expected to deliver “significant production growth and shareholder value in the years ahead”.
Earlier this month the California-headquartered firm was given the green light by the UK government to press ahead with the £1.5billion development of the Alder gas field, which has been left untapped since the 1970s.
The field, around 100 miles off the Scottish coast, was initially discovered in 1975 but its difficult nature meant that proper development has only now been possible through improvements to technology.
It is estimated that Chevron and project partner ConocoPhillips will reap 110million cubic feet of gas from the field over the next decade.
Elsewhere Chevron said it would focus on LNG projects in Australia, where it has two major projects, Gorgon and Wheatstone.
Mr Watson said this year would be a “peak year for spending” on these two projects.
Chevron added approximately 800 million barrels of net oil-equivalent proved reserves in 2013, Mr Watson added.
The company said capital investment and exploration costs in 2013 were £25.4billion, compared with a total of £20.8billion in 2012.
Chevron’s shares dropped 4.2% in early trading to £67.34.
A Chevron spokeswoman added: “We will continue to play a role in developing the region’s natural resources.
“The Alder Field development which recently received UK Government approval is an important milestone in support of our strategic plan to profitably grow production, and is among our solid queue of major capital projects that will deliver value to shareholders.”
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