Exxon Mobil vs Chevron: Which Is Better to Invest in - Coursework Example

The paper "Exxon Mobil vs Chevron: Which Is Better to Invest in?" is a great example of coursework on finance and accounting. Chevron Corporate is among the largest incorporated energy companies in the world. The corporate engages in: exploration, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; refining, marketing, and distributing of lubricants and transportation fuels; manufacturing and selling petrochemicals; generation of power and production of geothermal energy; provision of renewable energy and offers energy efficiency solutions. In addition, it carries out research in advanced biofuels. The company has three categories of businesses which include: Upstream; Downstream and Gas and Midstream.

• • Upstream Business

The upstream business of Chevron Corporate is concerned with the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. It has an upstream business strategy of increasing profits in major areas as well as making new legacy positions. As of the end of the financial year 2013, Chevron Corporate had a global net-oil equivalent proved reserves for consolidated and affiliated companies at 11.2 billion barrels with an average daily production of 2.6 million barrels.

The company’s top production areas include Australia, Canada, Angola, Bangladesh, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, the Partitioned Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Thailand. Main conventional areas of exploration for the company include the United States deep-water Gulf of Mexico and the offshore areas of Australia and Western Africa; the Iraq Kurdistan Region; frontier settings in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Morroco, Suriname, and the Bright Basin of Australia. The company’s areas of exploration for tight resources and shale include Australia, China, Poland, Canada, Argentina, Ukraine, the United States, Lithuania, and Romania.

The company’s upstream earnings are closely aligned to industry prices for crude oil and natural gas. Natural gas and crude oil prices in the industry are determined by external factors that are not within the control of the company because the commodity demand is associated with factors such as worldwide economic conditions, production quotas imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), weather-related damage and disruptions, competing for fuel prices and regional supply interruptions or fears caused by political uncertainty.