Chevron Corp. on Friday reported $3.1 billion in second-quarter profit, its strongest results in a year as the oil company was buoyed by months of higher commodity prices.
The San Ramon, Calif.-based company’s quarterly results were a dramatic improvement from the same period last year, when Chevron reported an $8.3 billion loss as the global economy ground to a halt during world-wide Covid-19 lockdowns.
Chevron reported $1.4 billion in net income in the first quarter of this year. The last time the company reported larger profits was in the first quarter of 2020.
The oil-and-gas industry has recovered this year as economies have reopened, spurring demand. U.S. oil prices have mostly stayed above $60 a barrel since March, after briefly turning negative in April 2020 and remaining below $50 for most of last year. Oil prices closed at nearly $74 a barrel on Thursday.
The recovery has helped the fossil-fuel industry rebound from unprecedented losses in 2020. Two of the largest European oil companies reported strong quarterly results earlier in the week. Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported $5.5 billion in net income, while TotalEnergies SE posted $3.5 billion in profits.
