Refineries give Chevron the edge

Article Excerpt

The oil-price plunge continues to weigh on these two producers, but their recent asset sales will help them weather the downturn. We still prefer Chevron, as cheaper oil enhances its refineries’profits. CHEVRON CORP. $73 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $138.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 5.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.chevron.com) has sold $11 billion worth of less important businesses since 2014. It should reach its goal of selling $15 billion of assets by 2017. Even with the sales, the company’s oil output will likely average 3.1 million barrels a day in 2017, up 19.2% from 2.6 million in the second quarter of 2015. That’s mainly because Chevron plans to start up two big offshore gas projects: its 47.3%-owned Gorgon field, off Australia’s northwest coast, and the nearby Wheatstone field (64.14% owned). Each will also have a plant to convert the gas into a liquid for shipment to buyers…