CONTINUED OIL PRICES DROP: CHEVRON PLOTS $15BILLION ASSETS SALE

Following continued drop in oil prices, US oil giant Chevron on Tuesday said it plans $15billion in asset sales through 2017 as it seeks to maintain a strong dividend for shareholders.

According to the company CEO, John Watson, the sale plan expands by 50 percent as against a previous plan to sell $10billion in assets through 2016. In 2014, Chevron divested $6 billion in assets, including the $1.3 billion sale of a stake in a Chad oil project to the Republic of Chad. The deal also comprised Chevron’s interest in a pipeline system that transports oil from Chad to Cameroon.

John Watson said the company was on track to increase production from 2.57 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2014 to 3.1 million in 2017. Major projects ramping up include Texas shale ventures and natural gas developments in Australia and Angola. “We are well-positioned to manage through the recent drop in commodity prices and are taking several responsive actions, including curtailing capital spending and lowering costs,” Watson said.

Chevron's shares plummeted 3.1 percent to $48.46 in late afternoon trade and because of this the company cuts down in it's budget with the January announcement of a capital budget of $35 billion, down 13 percent from last year. The company also halted its share buyback program, citing the big drop in oil prices. In recent months, Chevron has also withdrawn from exploration ventures in Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Ukraine.

Other large oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, have also trimmed spending in response to about a 50 percent drop in oil prices since June. Leading oil services companies, including Halliburton and Schlumberger, have announced deep job cuts.