Chevron has reported a 64 per cent decline in quarterly profit, lagging Wall Street forecasts, as a sharp drop in energy prices stung the second-largest US oil company.

Chevron, like other oil majors, is making efforts to adjust to the lower energy price environment but finding it harder than some smaller and nimbler rivals because of its size.

'They're cutting costs, they're changing what they're doing ... and conserving cash,' said James Halloran, analyst at National City Private Client Group.

'But the bigger they are, the harder it is to slow down quickly,' he added.

Production actually climbed by 64,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from a year ago to 2.66 million boepd, even as reduced production quotas in Opec states cut its output by 50,000 barrels per day during the quarter.

But the output increase was not nearly enough to compensate for the steep drop in oil and natural gas liquids prices, which fell by nearly 60 per cent to $36 a barrel in the US and by 55 per cent to $39 per barrel in its international operations.

Citing the economy and weaker pricing, Chevron is keeping its dividend steady despite an expected rise, and said share buybacks, halted last quarter, were unlikely to resume this year.

'The share repurchases come after the dividend and they come after the capital programme,' said chief financial officer Pat Yarrington.

Chevron said its net profit fell to $1.84 billion, or 92 cents per share, from $5.17 billion, or $2.48 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue plunged 46 per cent to $35 billion.

Excluding a $400 million gain from the sale of its marketing businesses in Nigeria and Brazil, its earnings of 72 cents per share were short of the average analyst estimate of 81 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. – TradeArabia News Service