CHEVRON has cut its capital and exploration budget for this year to $21.6billion, which is 5% below the figure for 2009.
Of the $21.6billion, $17.28billion will be reserved for upstream exploration and production projects worldwide, including natural-gas projects.
Major capital projects include development of the Gorgon natural-gas project in Western Australia and opportunities in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico, offshore West Africa and in the Gulf of Thailand.
Funding is also planned for focused appraisal in core hydrocarbon basins, of which a significant amount has been taking place West of Shetland, where the company has its Rosebank-Lochnagar discoveries.
Major upstream spending expected in 2010 includes development of Gorgon and Wheatstone natural-gas resources, including LNG facilities, in Western Australia.
It also takes in deepwater exploration and development, including:
Jack-St Malo, Perdido, Tahiti, Tonga, and Big Foot, in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Development of the Frade and Papa Terra fields off Brazil.
Development of the Usan and Agbami deepwater fields offshore Nigeria.
Construction of LNG facilities and development of block 14 deepwater assets in Angola.
Development of the offshore Platong Gas II project in Thailand.
Development of the Chuandongbei natural-gas project in China.
Expansion of the Athabasca oil sands in Canada.
Dave O’Reilly, Chevron’s chairman and CEO, said of the 2010 programme: “Our company is in a strong financial position. Much of our 2010 spending continues to be on large, multi-year projects consistent with our upstream growth strategies.”