Chevron’s global upstream volumes increased by more than 5% in Q2 2026, while U.S. production reached a record of nearly 2.1 MMboe/d, the company said during its quarterly earnings call July 31. Downstream operations also reached new highs. Chevron processed more than 1 million b/d through its U.S. refineries, a record.
“We remain focused on cost discipline and long-term value creation. During the second quarter, the company achieved its structural cost reduction target six months early by capturing $3 billion in annual run-rate savings” Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said. “Furthermore, we delivered $1.5 billion of annual run-rate synergies related to the Hess Corporation acquisition within one year of closing.”
Beyond its traditional oil and gas business, Chevron emphasized its expanding power strategy. The company views reliable electricity as the primary constraint on AI-driven data center growth and believes its natural gas resource base and project execution capabilities position it to capitalize on that opportunity.
At the center of that strategy is Project Kilby, a behind-the-meter power development in the Permian Basin (and the subject of a future blog) that management says is the only multi-gigawatt project of its kind backed by a long-term power purchase agreement. Chevron recently signed a 20-year take-or-pay agreement with Microsoft for 2.67 GW of capacity, with a final investment decision (FID) expected later this year. The site is expected to be powered initially by 12 smaller turbines (light-blue bar sections in slide below), with seven larger turbines (dark-blue bar sections) coming online later, with an interconnection with the ERCOT grid in 2030-31.
The company said it expects Kilby to create a repeatable model for future data center power projects.
Source: Chevron
