BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 4. Chevron’s U.S. downstream segment bounced back to profitability in the first quarter of 2025, posting earnings of $103 million, according to the company’s latest financial disclosure, Trend reports.
This marks a significant turnaround from the $348 million loss recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024. However, earnings were still down sharply compared to the same period a year ago, when the segment brought in $453 million in Q1 2024.
The year-over-year decline in earnings was attributed to lower margins on refined product sales and a legal reserve, Chevron stated in its report. Still, operational metrics showed considerable improvement, particularly in refinery utilization and sales volumes.
Refinery crude unit inputs — a key indicator of operational activity — surged to 1,018 thousand barrels per day (MBD) in Q1 2025, a 16 percent increase over the 878 MBD reported in the same quarter last year. Chevron credited the increase to improved refinery reliability at its El Segundo facility in California, the completion of a planned shutdown at the Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi, and expanded capacity at its Pasadena, Texas plant following the Light Tight Oil project.
Refined product sales also saw a moderate rise, reaching 1,293 MBD in Q1 2025, up 4 percent from 1,248 MBD a year earlier. The increase was primarily driven by stronger gasoline demand.
Compared to the prior quarter (Q4 2024), both refinery inputs and refined product sales saw sequential growth — refinery throughput rose by 14 percent, and product sales increased by nearly 3 percent. These improvements helped swing the downstream segment back into the black despite continued pressure on margins.
