Chevron profits of $7.73 billion soar 43 percent, propelled by rising oil and gasoline prices

By George Avalos
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/29/2011 06:17:13 AM PDT
Updated: 07/29/2011 06:54:52 AM PDT

Chevron powered to a second-quarter profit of $7.73 billion that soared 43 percent, fueled by a geyser of higher oil and gasoline prices, the energy giant reported Friday.
San Ramon-based Chevron posted earnings that easily topped Wall Street's predictions. Chevron earned $3.85 a share, well ahead of the average projection of $3.51 by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Revenue jumped 30.1 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
Robust oil prices and fatter profits at its refineries helped Chevron offset a slump in oil output.
"Our second quarter financial performance was very strong," Chevron's CEO John Watson said.
Chevron's upstream operations -- exploration, production and development -- rocketed higher by 51 percent. The company's downstream activities -- refining and retail -- rose 7 percent.
"We continued to advance our major capital projects, resumed important exploration and development drilling activity in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and acquired new upstream resource opportunities in the second quarter," Watson said.
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