Chevron Net More Than Doubles

Another oil company reports and more record profits follow

Chevron Corp (CVX) said its third-quarter net income more than doubled amid historically high oil and gas prices and improved margins on refined products, though output fell 5.7%. The second-largest U.S. oil company by market capitalization (behind Exxon (XOM)) posted net income of $7.89 billion, or $3.85 a share, compared with $3.72 billion, or $1.75 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue jumped 43% to $78.87 billion. Earnings surged 80% in Chevron's upstream business, which includes exploration and production, though results were tempered by the effects of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. The average per-barrel price in the U.S. for crude oil and natural-gas liquids increased 60%, while the price of natural gas rose 59%. Chevron's world-wide energy volumes dropped 5.7% amid lost production from the hurricanes and impacts prices had on recording volumes from some international deals. That decline follows the 8% drop Exxon Mobil Corp. reported Thursday, showing some of the difficulties the world's biggest oil companies are having in maintaining output levels.

Profits more than quadrupled in the company's refining, marketing and transportation segment -- its downstream business -- amid improved margins on the sale of refined products. That was aided by the swoon in crude prices during the summer from record highs in July.

What will be interesting is how loud the "widfall profits" tax chorus grows again. It seems everytime an oil company makes money, folks line up to grab some.  What does surpirse me is that the oil majors have not taken stakes in alternative fuel compnaies like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) or Pacific Ethanol (PEIX). It would go a long way to letting them claim to suport the industry and take some of the politicalheat of them.

With the way the political climate is shaping up, they may want to do something rather soon.

As Bloomberg puts it, Big Oil Holds Big Cash