Chevron profits up 35 percent in first quarter as gas prices surge

Chevron's profit for the first quarter jumped 36 percent, to $6.2 billion, the company has reported. Revenue for the quarter was $60.34 billion, a jump of 25.2 percent. During that period, the cost of oil exceeded $100 a barrel. Earnings were up as a result of higher prices for crude and higher margins on refined petroleum products, according to Chevron CEO John Watson. Chevron reportedly earns $25 a barrel, making it more profitable than any other oil company in its exploration, development and production (upstream) operations.

Earnings at the Chevron refinery in Richmond were up 439 percent, more than five times what they were a year ago.

Among Chevron's planned operations are a new oil field in Kazakhstan and liquefied natural gas fields in the ocean off Australia. The company is also expected to intensify North American production, including renewed exploration for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and for shale gas in Pennsylvania and Canada.

Chevron's capital expenditures for 2010, much of it for exploration, development and production of new energy sources, were $21.8 billion. For 2011 the company predicts capital outlays of $26 billion.

For the consumer, prices at the pump in the US are predicted to remain at an average of $4 a gallon, the result of higher oil prices caused by increased demand and lower production. One source of pressure on prices is Libya, which has suspended oil production. Libya is the source of 10 percent of America's gasoline.