Chevron 2009 Annual Report Download - page 4

A company’s strategies — and the abilities, values and focus of its people — are
tested in tough times. In 2009, the people of Chevron delivered strong results
in the face of a global economic downturn and difficult industry conditions.
We brought major capital projects online or to capacity and achieved industry-
leading production growth. We made major new discoveries of crude oil
and natural gas and continued to grow our natural gas business. Employees
aggressively managed costs, resulting in about a 15 percent decrease in
operating expenses over 2008. And we accomplished all this while recording
fewer workplace injuries than ever before.
Our financial performance for 2009 contributed to a strong balance sheet
and returns for investors. Total stockholder return — a critical measure of our
performance — was No. 1 among our top competitors over the past five years.
We increased our annual dividend in 2009 for the 22nd consecutive year. Net
income in 2009 was $10.5 billion on sales and other operating revenues of
$167 billion, reflecting lower prices from 2008 for crude oil and natural gas
and lower sales margins and prices for refined products. Return on capital
employed for the year was 10.6 percent.
We advanced our upstream growth strategy by bringing world-class deepwater
projects online, including Tahiti in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Tombua-Landana
offshore Angola and Frade offshore Brazil. Our Tengiz expansion in Kazakhstan
and Agbami ramp-ups in Nigeria added significant production volumes. We also
achieved impressive results managing our producing crude oil and natural gas
assets to limit natural field declines.
In 2009, we made strong progress toward our goal to build a high-impact, global
natural gas business. Construction of the Escravos gas-to-liquids and Angola
liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants continued. Offshore Western Australia, we
gave the go-ahead for the massive Gorgon LNG project and achieved important
commercial milestones for the Wheatstone LNG development.
We added 1.1 billion barrels of net oil-equivalent proved reserves, replacing 112
percent of net oil-equivalent production in 2009. And we continue to build for
our future: Our exploration expertise and applied technology resulted in a drilling
success rate of 57 percent, one of the best in the industry.
The economic environment was challenging for refining and marketing in 2009.
To manage our refining and marketing businesses in this environment, we
are aggressively controlling costs. Our downstream and chemical businesses
continued their strong focus on reliability and safety. Refineries continued to
run at industry-leading levels of utilization. Restructuring in our lubricants and
Oronite fuel additives businesses generated improved earnings.
In 2009, we progressed our renewable energy strategy, which is focused on
enhancing our geothermal energy business — the largest in the world — while
building our energy efficiency business and developing nonfood biofuels.
2Chevron Corporation 2009 Annual Report
Chevron’s core strengths —
starting with the talent,
dedication and values of
our employees worldwide —
position us to achieve
growth while helping meet
long-term global demand
for energy. … Our world
grows more complex every
day. We face increased
challenges — geopolitical,
environmental, regulatory
and technical. But Chevron
employees have risen to
challenges for more than
130 years — with dedication,
ingenuity and hard work.
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