Chevron Corporation is raising its exploration budget by more than 50% versus 2025 and plans to drill about 20 exploration wells next year, up from 10 wells two years ago, plus another five or six appraisal wells. Kevin McLachlan, who joined Chevron last year to lead the exploration arm, told the Financial Times that exploration spending is expected to exceed $1.5 billion in 2026, compared with just under $1 billion last year. The company has secured exploration blocks in Brazil, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, the Gulf of Mexico, Namibia, Peru, and Suriname, and its total exploration acreage has doubled since 2024. The push follows a period of weaker activity: Wood Mackenzie data cited by the Financial Times show Chevron's conventional exploration and appraisal spending fell 36% to $1.82 billion during 2021-2025 versus the prior five-year period, and proved reserves ended 2024 at a decade low of 9.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent before recovering to approximately 10.6 billion BOE at the end of 2025, mainly on the Hess acquisition and other reserve additions. Chevron paid $12.8 billion in dividends in 2025 and has cut capital expenditure guidance to $18 billion to $21 billion per year, while targeting adjusted free cash flow growth of more than 10% annually at $70 Brent.
Chevron CorpChevron is raising its 2026 exploration budget over 50% to exceed $1.5 billion and drilling ~20 exploration wells, a major capex/exploration investment push.
