Chevron\'s Q1 profit plunges on prices, lower production

Chevron Corp., the second largest U.S. oil company, said Friday that its net income fell 27 percent in the first quarter because of lower global oil prices and decreased production of oil. The California-based company said in a press release that it earned 4.5 billion dollars in the first three months of this year on revenue of 50.1 billion dollars. During the same period last year, Chevron earned 6.2 billion dollars on revenue of 54.3 billion dollars. On a per share basis, Chevron earned 2.36 dollars, down from 3.18 dollars last year. "Our first quarter earnings were down from a year ago primarily due to lower prices and volumes for crude oil," said Chairman and CEO John Watson. "Crude prices were tempered by global economic factors, while our current year production volumes were affected by weather-related, unplanned downtime, particularly in Kazakhstan." Chevron's worldwide oil-equivalent production was 2.59 million barrels per day in the first quarter, down from 2.65 million barrels per day last year. Chevron's profit report came one day after both Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips reported drops in first quarter earnings this year due to the shrinkage in demand for petroleum products in the Unites States and internationally.