Chevron’s refineries cut its risk

Article Excerpt

Oil prices have moved up 5% since the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports. OPEC’s recent production cuts have also contributed to the increase. However, crude prices will likely remain volatile over the next few years. We feel the best way for conservative investors to cut their oil risk is with integrated producers like Chevron. That’s because their refineries achieve higher profit margins when they pay less for the crude oil they use as raw material. CHEVRON CORP. $120 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares o/s: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $228.0 billion; P-to-S ratio: 1.5; Divd. yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.chevron.com) is the second-largest integrated oil company in the U.S. by revenue, after ExxonMobil (New York symbol XOM). Producing oil and natural gas supplied 78% of Chevron’s earnings in 2018. Based on its current production rates, the company’s reserves of 12.1 billion barrels should last roughly 12 years. The other 22% of Chevron’s earnings comes from refineries, petrochemical operations…