Oil producer Chevron Corporation(NYSE:CVX) said on
Wednesday it would spend $36.7 billion next year on energy exploration and
other investments including spends by its affiliates.
This budget is 12 percent higher than what the company
had earmarked for 2012. The company added that about 90 percent of the budgeted
amount would be set aside for upstream crude oil and natural gas exploration
and production projects, while another 7 percent is for Chevron's downstream
business that makes, transport and sell gasoline, diesel fuel and other refined
products, fuel and lubricant additives, and petrochemicals.
One of the major projects which will be covered under
the capital outlay is the multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas project in
Western Australia called Gorgon that had been approved last year.
Chevron has raised its cost estimate for the Gorgon
foundation project to $52 billion, up from $37 billion, due in part to higher
labour costs, logistics challenges, weather delays and the stronger Australian
dollar.
The Gorgon project is expected to start in 2014 and
the first LNG cargo would be ready in the first quarter of 2015, it added.
"While investment requirements have grown, oil
prices, which directly impact the overall revenue stream, have increased by
approximately 80 percent over the same time period," said Vice Chairman
George Kirkland.
"In addition, the LNG nameplate capacity has
increased by 4 percent to 15.6 million tons per year."
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