We had nearly cornered the geothermal market years ago. Largest producer in the world and in the US. Then our genius leaders decided to sell the Geysers in California and divest the crown jewel in Indonesia. Amazing assets, just not oily enough. Leaders didn’t understand them. Now we announce want to learn about geothermal and invest in it to show we are green. So sad.
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No more oil to drill ???????????????????
And Chevron leads wonder why the company is drowning in incompetence. They should read some of the genius posts here.
Do scientists do anything anymore? There is no more oil to drill. why does the company hire so many in Houston so they can WFH and do analysis. On what exactly?
We are all good. BH from downstream VCO is in charge of geothermal!!
Chevron's core strength is producing and marketing oil and gas. Everything else has been an abject failure. It's a bit embarrassing now that Chevron's efforts in the low-carbon/renewable space have been juvenile and half-hearted efforts (to wit: gas from cow manure? really? ...and throwing a few dollars at some unknown/unproven hydrogen start-up). Stick with your strengths, just as Exxon is doing.
@1ukd+1kc22KhD You sound like one of those clowns I always see posting on Linked in. All catchphrase zero substance.
The people on the layoff's site should know all about this subject. After being layed off, they are all mostly full of hot air.
Unocal knew how to manage geothermal. Once those people all left, Chevron had no clue.
Umm, the geothermal sales closed in 2017 and they were great cash flow businesses with none of the drama, filth, and toxins of oil. We were nuts to sell them. The new owners are expanding them. Terrible decision.
Selling Indonesia geothermal was idiocy. Amazing people got rewarded for doing it. Permian layoff in 2016 resulted in loss of many young technical folks that should have been kept. EOI's in 2018 only resulted in the best leadership leaving. Mistakes are made but not learning from them and looking forward with blinkers is a recipe for terminal failure.
In its defense, Chevron sold out of geothermal more than 10 years ago, when it was an underperforming asset and money drain. More damning (and those in power who made the decision, including some management high-pots, will never admit it now) was when Chevron laid off all its West Texas experience in 2016 (yes, some 5 years after UCR was already noteworthy for other companies), then just two years later had to ramp up with under-trained CTC and GOM petrotechs to become a "leader" in the Permian.
Buy high, sell low. That’s the chevron way. But imo we shouldn’t be caving to the woke mob with greenwashing. The world needs oil. Give them what they need, not what they want. The whole CNE is a money pit to appease stock analysts demanding corporations sacrifice profitability at the ESG altar.
Chevron has made fortunes for others many times throughout it’s history through poorly thought out and executed divestitures, usually as a result of short sighted cost cutting during market downturns. Some are good decisions, but many (like geothermal) have been monumental blunders in hindsight.
Thanks JW! Should have never handed the reigns to a finance guy.
What go round come round. By the time we figure out what we used to know about geothermal everyone else will be doing fusion or hydro.