Chevron Corporation Friday announced a $32.7 billion capital and exploratory spending program for 2012. Included in the 2012 program are $3 billion of planned expenditures by affiliates, which do not require cash outlays by Chevron. Total investments for 2011 are estimated at $33 billion, reflecting approximately $28 billion in capital and exploratory expenditures and $4.5 billion for the acquisition of Atlas Energy, Inc., which closed earlier in the year. “We continue to develop an unparalleled project queue,” said Chairman and CEO John Watson.”Our 2012 capital program covers a number of multi-year projects currently in the construction phase, including two world-class Australian LNG projects and multiple deepwater developments. We believe these investments will yield significant production growth and reward our shareholders for years to come.” By 2017, we expect our net crude oil and natural gas production to grow about 20 percent to 3.3 million barrels per day. This growth profile, along with our current financial strength, supports our priority of continuously growing our dividends.” “Our 2012 capital program includes spending of nearly $9 billion in the United States, with major new investments in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and our refinery at Pascagoula, Mississippi. These projects are expected to result in new jobs and new sources of revenues for the communities where we operate. Our investments, both in the United States and elsewhere around the globe, help provide affordable new energy supplies to support a growing economy,” Watson added. Approximately 87 percent of the 2012 spending program is budgeted for upstream crude oil and natural gas exploration and production projects. Another 11 percent is associated with the company's downstream businesses that manufacture, transport and sell gasoline, diesel fuel and other refined products, fuel and lubricant additives, and petrochemicals. Spending of $28.5 billion is planned for exploration and production activities, including major natural gas
