Chevron plans to lift 2026 exploration budget above $1.5B

Chevron plans to increase its exploration spending to more than $1.5 billion in 2026, up from just under $1 billion last year. Kevin McLachlan, head of Chevron's exploration arm, told the Financial Times that his budget would grow by more than 50% compared with 2025.

The energy group intends to drill about 20 exploration wells next year, compared with 10 wells two years ago, alongside five or six appraisal wells. The company has doubled its total exploration acreage since 2024, securing blocks in Brazil, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, the Gulf of Mexico, Namibia, Peru, and Suriname. The strategy aims to expand frontier oil and gas drilling while deploying artificial intelligence and adding personnel.

The push follows a pullback in conventional activity. Data from Wood Mackenzie cited by the Financial Times shows Chevron's conventional exploration and appraisal spending fell 36% to $1.82 billion during the 2021–2025 period compared with the previous five years. Proved reserves hit a decade low of 9.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent at the end of 2024, before recovering to approximately 10.6 billion at the end of 2025 following the Hess acquisition and reserve additions.

Chevron distributed $12.8 billion in dividends in 2025, maintaining an average annual dividend-per-share increase of 7% over 25 years. At its November 2025 Investor Day, the producer set annual capital expenditure guidance of $18 billion to $21 billion and targeted adjusted free cash flow growth above 10% annually at $70 Brent. As of August 31, short interest in Chevron stood at 1.05% of its float.