Chevron has set its 2026 capital-spending budget at $18–19 billion, the low end of its previously guided $18–21 billion range through 2030, as the company focuses on high-return upstream growth in the United States and Guyana. The plan follows last month’s announcement of a multiyear cost-cutting and efficiency drive aimed at boosting returns.
CEO Mike Wirth said the budget prioritises discipline and efficiency while targeting projects with the strongest cash-flow payoff. Upstream will account for around $17 billion of total capex, including roughly $9 billion in the United States. Chevron plans to put $6 billion into US shale and expects domestic production to exceed 2 million boe/day next year.
Offshore spending will total about $7 billion, supporting development in Guyana — including Chevron’s newly acquired 30% stake in the Stabroek Block via its $55 billion Hess purchase — alongside projects in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico. Downstream capex will be around $1 billion, slightly below 2025 levels.
The 2026 program reinforces Chevron’s focus on scaling output from its biggest growth engines while maintaining capital discipline as it integrates Hess’ assets, including additional acreage in the Bakken.
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Info via Reuters
