Chevron Corporation

This article is about the Standard Oil descendant. For similarly named companies, see Chevron#Organisations.

Chevron Corporation
Formerly
  • Standard Oil Company (California)
    (1906–1926)[1]
  • Standard Oil Co. of California (Socal) (1926-1984)
  • ChevronTexaco Corporation
    (2001–2005)
Company typePublic
ISINUS1667641005
Industry
Predecessors
  • California Star Oil Works (1876–1879)
  • Pacific Coast Oil Co.[2]
    (1879–1900))
  • Iowa Standard[2]
    (1885-1900)
  • Pacific Oil Co. (unknown-1926)
  • (et. al.)
FoundedSeptember 10, 1879; 145 years ago (1879-09-10) as "Pacific Coast Oil Co." in Los Angeles, California[3]
Founders
HeadquartersHouston, Texas, U.S.[4]
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Mike Wirth
(chairman and CEO)[5]
ProductsGasoline, natural gas and other petrochemicals
Brands
Revenue Decrease US$200.9 billion (2023)
Decrease US$29.58 billion (2023)
Decrease US$21.37 billion (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$261.6 billion (2023)
Total equityIncrease US$160.9 billion (2023)
OwnerBerkshire Hathaway (8.17%)
Number of employees
45,600 (December 2023)
ParentStandard Oil Co. (1900–1911)
Subsidiaries
Websitechevron.com
Footnotes / references
[6]

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly specializing in oil and gas. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened to Socal or CalSo), it is active in more than 180 countries. Within oil and gas, Chevron is vertically integrated and is involved in hydrocarbon exploration, production, refining, marketing and transport, chemicals manufacturing and sales, and power generation.

Founded originally in Southern California during the 1870s, the company was then based for many decades in San Francisco, California, before moving its corporate offices to San Ramon, California, in 2001; and on August 2, 2024, Chevron announced that it would be relocating its headquarters from California to Houston, Texas, by 2025.[7]

Chevron traces its history back to the second half of the 19th century to small California-based oil companies which were acquired by Standard and merged into Standard Oil of California. The company grew quickly on its own after the breakup of Standard Oil by continuing to acquire companies and partnering with others both inside and outside of California, eventually becoming one of the Seven Sisters that dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the 1970s.

In 1985, Socal merged with the Pittsburgh-based Gulf Oil and rebranded as Chevron; the newly merged company later merged with Texaco in 2001.[8] Chevron manufactures and sells fuels, lubricants, additives, and petrochemicals, primarily in Western North America, the US Gulf Coast, Southeast Asia, South Korea and Australia. In 2018, the company produced an average of 791,000 barrels (125,800 m3) of net oil-equivalent per day in United States.[9]

Chevron is one of the largest companies in the world and the second-largest oil company based in the United States by revenue, only behind fellow Standard Oil descendant ExxonMobil. Chevron ranked 10th on the Fortune 500 in 2023. The company is also the last-remaining oil-and-gas component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since ExxonMobil's exit from the index in 2020.[10][11]

Chevron has been subject to numerous controversies.

  1. ^ Standard Oil History at the Encyclopedia Britannica
  2. ^ a b [1] on Britannica
  3. ^ Kaszynski, William (2000). The American Highway: The History and Culture of Roads in the United States. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 47. ISBN 0786408227. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  4. ^ Chevron announces headquarters relocation and senior leadership changes
  5. ^ DiChristopher, Tom (September 28, 2017). "Chevron names Mike Wirth chairman and CEO". MSNBC. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Collin Eaton (August 2, 2024). "Chevron to Leave California for Texas, as Regulations Mount in Golden State". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2024. CEO Mike Wirth says policies in California are discouraging investment and hurting consumers.
  8. ^ Chevron Policy, Government and Public Affairs. "Chevron History". chevron.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "United States Highlights of Operations". chevron.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  10. ^ "Check out Chevron Corp's stock price (CVX) in real time". CNBC. January 29, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Chevron | 2022 Fortune 500". Fortune. Retrieved August 15, 2022.