Chevron announced an increase in capital and exploration expenditures to $20 billion in 2019

Chevron Corp.
, the second-largest U.
S.
oil producer, has announced plans to spend $20 billion in capital and exploratory spending in 2019, including $7.
6 billion in U.
S.
upstream projects and $9.
7 billion in international upstream projects.

The company said it would spend $10.
4 billion to maintain and grow its current production assets, and the announcement marked the first increase in capital spending
in four years.

Chevron Inc.
, the second-largest U.
S.
oil producer, said it would spend more on shale production and invest more in refining and chemicals
.
It plans to invest $3.
6 billion in the Permian Basin in West Texas/New Mexico and $1.
6 billion
in other shale regions.

The planned $5.
2 billion investment in U.
S.
shale in 2019 is a significant increase
from $4.
3 billion this year.
"Our 2019 budget supports a strong upstream and downstream portfolio, which includes our world-class Permian Basin, major capital projects at TCO Saxo, and other shale asset developments," said Michael K.
Wirth, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

”

Michael K.
Wirth added, "We expect to continue to deliver steady production growth and continued free cash flow, which underpins
our strong dividend and share repurchase program.
”

Chevron also said it plans to spend $4.
3 billion on
Kazakhstan's Tengiz megafield.
That's up from
the $3.
7 billion budgeted for this year.

In addition, approximately $2.
5 billion will be used for Chevron's refining, transportation and sale of fuels and petrochemicals businesses, including lubricants and additives, an increase of approximately $300 million from 2018
inputs.
At the same time, the company also said it has set aside $1.
3 billion for global exploration
.