  U.S. oil giant Chevron reports drop in profits November 2, 2012 - 21:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. oil giant Chevron has reported a drop in profits due to lower oil prices and falling production, according to BBC News. Net profit for the three months to the end of September was $5.3bn (£3.3bn), down a third on the $7.8m the company made a year earlier. Revenue fell to $55.7bn from $61.3bn. The results were worse than analysts had expected and Chevron shares fell 2% in early trading in New York. Other U.S. oil giants have also reported a drop in third-quarter profits. Earlier this week, Exxon Mobil reported a 7% fall in net profit to $9.57bn after a big drop in exploration and production earnings. Chevron boss John Watson said: "This quarter's earnings were solid, but off from their near record level of a year ago. Crude oil prices were down and we had a heavy period of planned oil field maintenance which temporarily reduced oil and gas production in several locations. Foreign currency movements also hurt our results this quarter, while they benefited the year-ago period." The company said the average price per barrel at which it sold oil and liquid natural gas in the U.S. during the quarter was $91, down from $97 a year ago. The average price of natural gas per thousand cubic feet was $2.63, down from $4.14. Oil production was also down 4%, due in part to asset sales and storm-related disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico.   Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion.   Partner news |  Latest news Mirzoyan says meeting with Bayramov was “constructive”  At the moment, Ararat Mirzoyan said, there is no basis for additional comments.OSCE vows support for Armenia “in all three directions of security” Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg.151 detained as civil disobedience campaigns continue in Yerevan Citizens have been blocking streets in the Armenian capital, demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation.France welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Almaty France has welcomed the new round of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. |
