Following in the footsteps of a number of other major oil companies which recently admitted new source discoveries had not matched 2004 output, ChevronTexaco, the second largest oil company in the US, has only managed to replace one fifth of the volume it processed last year.
When compared to its major world rivals, the ‘league table’ is not good reading for ChevronTexaco. The company sits bottom when compared to ConocoPhillips’ 206% replacement ratio, BP’s 89%, ExxonMobil’s 83% and Shell’s 30 to 40% range.
Despite delivering a poor ratio ChevronTexaco actually beat industry forecasts, some of which were anticipating a ratio of zero, as in no replacements found. In response, the US oil titan said that the low ratio was due to its recent policy of asset divestment and that the company would have replaced half of its usage if it had not made the asset sales.
On a more positive note, the company is believed to have one of the strongest exploration and development programs in the industry, while income from the recent divestments leaves it in a strong position to acquire again or invest more in discovery operations.
The overall impact of replacing only 18% of its 2004 output was that ChevronTexaco’s overall oil-equivalent reserves fell 6% to 11.25 billion barrels.
