TIDBITS

A variety of articles, excerpts and items of interest taken from Chevron’s news releases and media reports compiled by the CRA Communications Committee

Chevron Reports Fourth Quarter Earnings of $3.1 Billion, Annual Earnings of $9.2 Billion
Feb. 2, 2018 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today reported earnings of $3.1 billion ($1.64 per share – diluted) for fourth quarter 2017, compared with $415 million ($0.22 per share – diluted) in the 2016 fourth quarter. Included in the quarter were non-cash provisional tax benefits of $2.02 billion related to U.S. tax reform and a non-cash charge of $190 million related to a former mining asset. Foreign currency effects decreased earnings in the 2017 fourth quarter by $96 million.
Full-year 2017 earnings were $9.2 billion ($4.85 per share – diluted) compared with a loss of $497 million ($0.27 per share – diluted) in 2016. Included in 2017 were non-cash provisional tax benefits of $2.02 billion related to U.S. tax reform, gains on asset sales of $1.44 billion, and impairments and other non-cash charges of $840 million. Foreign currency effects decreased earnings in 2017 by $446 million.
Sales and other operating revenues in fourth quarter 2017 were $36 billion, compared to $30 billion in the year-ago period.
Chevron Issues Second Climate Report for Investors
March 1, 2018 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today published its second report describing the company’s approach to managing climate change risks and its resilience under a low carbon scenario. Titled Climate Change Resilience – A Framework for Decision Making, the publication builds on the company’s prior report on managing climate change risks and provides more detail on the company’s approach to governance, risk management, strategic planning and emission reduction investments and activities, including key metrics.
“We proactively consider climate change in our business decisions, and we have the experience, processes and governance in place to manage the risks,” said Michael Wirth, Chevron’s Chairman and CEO. “We believe we are equipped to continue to succeed in any business environment as we deliver affordable, reliable energy that is a fundamental driver of economic growth and human progress.”
Aligned with the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures recommendations, Chevron’s report explains the company’s strategic decision-making approach to climate change related risks. These include ongoing evaluations of the company’s portfolio and future investments, its views of supply, demand, commodity and carbon prices, and the factors that drive global economic change.
The report summarizes Chevron’s work to test the competitiveness of its current assets under multiple scenarios, including some of the most restrictive greenhouse gas reduction proposals such as the Sustainable Development Scenario from the International Energy Agency. The results demonstrate that the company’s portfolio, due to its maturity and diversity across assets and geographies, is resilient in a wide variety of possible scenarios and enables Chevron to be flexible in response to potential changes.
“We know that climate change is a growing area of interest for our investors and other stakeholders. We’re committed to addressing the risks of climate change while delivering the energy that benefits societies and economies,” said Dr. Ronald Sugar, lead independent director for Chevron’s Board of Directors.
Chevron is a leader in improving how reliable and affordable energy is developed and delivered to meet global demand. The company is making its operations more energy efficient, reducing flaring, managing methane emissions and investing in low-carbon technologies. In addition, Chevron is investing in the innovations and innovators of tomorrow through research and development and investments in science, technology, engineering and math focused education.
Chevron Announced Increase in Quarterly Dividend

Jan. 31, 2018 – The Board of Directors of Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today declared a quarterly dividend of one dollar and twelve cents ($1.12) per share, payable March 12, 2018, to all holders of common stock as shown on the transfer records of the Corporation at the close of business February 16, 2018.
This increase puts Chevron on track to make 2018 the 31st consecutive year with an increase in annual dividend payout.
Chevron Announces Major Oil Discovery in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
Jan. 30, 2018 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) today announced a significant oil discovery at the Ballymore prospect in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
 
Ballymore is located in the Mississippi Canyon area of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, approximately three miles from Chevron’s Blind Faith platform, in water depth of 6,536 feet. The initial Ballymore well reached total measured depth of 29,194 feet and encountered more than 670 feet net oil pay with excellent reservoir and fluid characteristics. A sidetrack well is currently being drilled to further assess the discovery and begin to define development options.
 
“The Gulf of Mexico deepwater is an integral part of our company’s long-term strategy,” said Jeff Shellebarger, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production. “This discovery is an important addition to our portfolio, especially with its combination of size, quality and proximity to existing infrastructure.”
 
Chevron subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. Inc. is the operator with a 60 percent working interest in the Ballymore prospect. The co-owner is TOTAL E&P USA Inc. (40 percent). 

 Bruce Niemeyer Named Chevron's Corporate Vice President of Strategic Planning
Feb. 1, 2018 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today named Bruce Niemeyer corporate vice president of Strategic Planning, effective immediately.  Niemeyer is currently vice president of Chevron’s Mid-Continent Business Unit. In his new role, Niemeyer, 56, will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for the company, allocating capital and other resources and determining operating unit performance measures and targets.  He will report to Mark A. Nelson, vice president of Midstream, Strategy & Policy.
 
“Bruce has been instrumental in developing Chevron’s business in the mid-continent United States, including Chevron’s significant Permian assets,” said Michael K. Wirth, chairman and chief executive officer of Chevron Corporation.  “Bruce’s strong operating background, coupled with his strategic planning experience, make him exceptionally well-suited to lead our corporate strategy function as we look to further optimize our portfolio and position Chevron to win in any price environment.”
 
Previously, Niemeyer was vice president of the Appalachian/Michigan Strategic Business Unit.  In addition, Niemeyer served as general manager of strategy and planning for Chevron North America Exploration and Production Co.  He joined Texaco in 2000 from Atlantic Richfield Co.
 
Niemeyer will be succeeded by Jeff Gustavson, currently president of Chevron Canada Limited.  In his current role, Gustavson is responsible for Chevron’s upstream interests in Canada, including oil sands, unconventional resources in Alberta and British Columbia, interests offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, the proposed Kitimat LNG project, and assets in the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory.
 
Gustavson, 45, joined Chevron in 1999 and has held positions in Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Strategic Planning, Supply and Trading, Investor Relations and Upstream, with numerous assignments in the United States, as well as Venezuela, the United Kingdom and Canada.  He will report to Jeff Shellebarger, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production.

Jim Umpleby Elected to Chevron's Board of Directors
Feb. 1, 2018 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) announced that Jim Umpleby has been elected to Chevron’s board of directors. Umpleby’s appointment is effective March 1, 2018, and he will serve on the Board Nominating and Governance Committee as well as the Management Compensation Committee.
“Jim Umpleby brings valuable perspective to the Board as chief executive of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of heavy equipment,” said Michael K. Wirth, Chevron’s chairman of the board and chief executive officer.  “He has a strong background in varied dimensions that are relevant to Chevron’s business, including international policy, heavy equipment engineering, environmental policy, and global workforce development.”
Umpleby, 59, is Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Caterpillar Inc.  He joined a Caterpillar subsidiary, Solar Turbines, in 1980, and held leadership positions in a wide variety of functions at Caterpillar.  Umpleby was named group president of Caterpillar’s Energy & Transportation business segment in 2013 and assumed the role of CEO on January 1, 2017.  
A graduate of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, Umpleby has also completed an executive leadership program at the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland. He serves on Rose-Hulman’s board of trustees, on the board of directors of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and is a member of the Latin America Conservation Council and the Business Roundtable.  
Humor section - The oddity that is English

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in a pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese.  So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Why pull a boot on your foot but not beet on your feet? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?  How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.