Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX)

Chevron is the second-largest U.S. oil company, producing about 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Annual revenue runs around $200 billion, though it swings dramatically with commodity prices. The company has major operations in the Permian Basin, Australia (Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG), and Kazakhstan. Its attempted $53 billion acquisition of Hess was challenged by Exxon in arbitration, creating one of the messiest oil deals in years.

Upstream exploration and production drives the majority of earnings, supplemented by downstream refining and chemicals. Chevron has positioned itself as a lower-cost producer with a strong balance sheet. The company returns massive amounts of cash to shareholders — over $25 billion annually in buybacks and dividends combined.

Chevron descends from Standard Oil of California, one of the original Standard Oil breakup companies from 1911. It merged with Texaco in 2001 for $45 billion. The Gorgon LNG project in Australia, completed in 2016, was one of the most expensive energy projects ever built at $54 billion. The Hess acquisition saga beginning in 2023 highlighted the industry's consolidation wave.