Five American Refineries at Record ThroughputNarrow moat

Chevron (CVX) — moat facet

Chevron runs five American refineries harder than it has for twenty years, and they still earned only $531 million in 2024.

Chevron's American refining system is small in number and run hard. It has five refineries with a combined capacity of 1,099 thousand barrels a day: Pascagoula at 369, El Segundo at 290, Richmond at 257, Pasadena at 125 and Salt Lake City at 581. In 2025 it achieved, in the company's words, "the highest U.S. refinery throughput in 20 years, with fewer refineries"2, and in the second quarter of 2026 American crude throughput was a record 1.07 million barrels a day, with utilisation above 97 percent3.

United States refinery capacity (thousand barrels a day)Pascagoula, MS369El Segundo, CA290Richmond, CA257Pasadena, TX125Salt Lake City, UT58Chevron Form 10-K FY2025; total 1,099
Half the American capacity is in California.

High utilisation is where a refiner's advantage shows. The cost of a refinery is mostly fixed, so every extra barrel processed spreads that cost thinner. Running at 97 percent when the industry cannot is a sign of reliability, and reliability is the one thing a refiner controls.

The results show both the leverage and the volatility. American downstream earned $3,904 million in 2023, $531 million in 2024 and $1,375 million in 20254, then $2,411 million in the second quarter of 2026 alone5. On $72,485 million of sales before eliminations in 2025, the American downstream kept about 1.9 percent as earnings6.

Two of the five are in California, El Segundo and Richmond7, the state whose regulation Chevron has cited in impairments and has left as a headquarters. The Leaving California page covers that.

Across the year the American system ran at 94.5 percent utilisation in 20258. Refinery crude unit inputs rose to 1,038 thousand barrels a day from 917 thousand in 20249, and Pasadena, whose expansion lets Chevron process more of its own Permian crude, ran at 110 thousand against 65 thousand10.

This is a narrow advantage in operations, not in price. The measure is utilisation through the next weak-margin year: holding above 90 percent when margins are thin would show the reliability is structural, while a return to 2024's $531 million of earnings on full runs would show it cannot outrun the cycle.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Record throughput of 1.07 million b/d in Q2 2026 at more than 97% utilisation.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
United States refinery crude throughput, latest quarter
1.07 million b/d, a record, at more than 97% utilisation (Q2 2026)

Reliability is the refiner's controllable edge; a fall in a weak-margin year would show it is cyclical.

Source: Chevron Q2 2026 earnings release ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Sixty Percent Imported Crude
Six in ten barrels through Chevron's American refineries are imported, so the refining business carries the supply risks Chevron's oil fields do not.
References
  1. ReportedIt has five refineries with a combined capacity of 1,099 thousand barrels a day: Pascagoula at 369, El Segundo at 290, Richmond at 257, Pasadena at 125 and Salt Lake City at 58.
    Chevron Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - downstream operations and Note 14 segment sales and intersegment eliminations. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIn 2025 it achieved, in the company's words, "the highest U.S. refinery throughput in 20 years, with fewer refineries", and in the second quarter of 2026 American crude throughput was a record 1.07 million barrels a day, with utilisation above 97 percent.
    Chevron fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1. — FY2025 · publ. 30 January 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIn 2025 it achieved, in the company's words, "the highest U.S. refinery throughput in 20 years, with fewer refineries", and in the second quarter of 2026 American crude throughput was a record 1.07 million barrels a day, with utilisation above 97 percent.
    Chevron second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - operations: production, refining, realisations, curtailments and business events. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedAmerican downstream earned $3,904 million in 2023, $531 million in 2024 and $1,375 million in 2025, then $2,411 million in the second quarter of 2026 alone.
    Chevron Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - downstream operations and Note 14 segment sales and intersegment eliminations. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedAmerican downstream earned $3,904 million in 2023, $531 million in 2024 and $1,375 million in 2025, then $2,411 million in the second quarter of 2026 alone.
    Chevron second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - financial results: earnings by segment, Brent, return on capital employed, cash flow and debt. — Q2 2026 · publ. 31 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. Moat Explorer calcOn $72,485 million of sales before eliminations in 2025, the American downstream kept about 1.9 percent as earnings.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Chevron's reported figures ($ millions unless stated). Segment mix 2025: external sales upstream US 19,608, upstream international 33,844, downstream US 65,331, downstream international 65,545, All Other 104, total 184,432; upstream 19,608 + 33,844 = 53,452, 53,452 / 184,432 = 29.0%; downstream 65,331 + 65,545 = 130,876, 130,876 / 184,432 = 71.0%; upstream US 19,608 / 184,432 = 10.6%; upstream international 33,844 / 184,432 = 18.4%; downstream US 65,331 / 184,432 = 35.4%; downstream international 65,545 / 184,432 = 35.5%. Upstream share of external sales 2015 (4,117 + 15,587) / 129,925 = 15.2%. Intersegment: upstream US 25,910 / 45,518 = 56.9%. Segment earnings 2025: upstream 12,822, downstream 3,022, sum 15,844; downstream 3,022 / 15,844 = 19.1%; upstream 12,822 / 15,844 = 80.9%. Downstream assets 55,243 / 324,012 = 17.0%. Change 2024 to 2025: upstream 12,822 - 18,602 = -5,780; downstream 3,022 - 1,727 = +1,295; 1,295 / 5,780 = 22.4%; Brent 81 - 69 = 12, 5,780 / 12 = about 480 per $1. 2022 upstream 12,621 + 17,663 = 30,284; downstream 5,394 + 2,761 = 8,155. Margins 2025 on sales before eliminations: upstream US 5,815 / 45,518 = 12.8%; upstream international 7,007 / 42,861 = 16.3%; downstream US 1,375 / 72,485 = 1.9%; downstream international 1,647 / 69,925 = 2.4%. Earnings over year-end segment assets: upstream 12,822 / 256,975 = 5.0%; upstream US 5,815 / 84,559 = 6.9%; upstream international 7,007 / 168,200 = 4.2%; downstream 3,022 / 55,243 = 5.5%; downstream US 1,375 / 33,745 = 4.1%; downstream international 1,647 / 21,146 = 7.8%. US downstream 531 / 3,904 - 1 = -86.4%. CPChem 352 / 8,985 = 3.9%; 352 / 903 - 1 = -61.0%. TCO revenue 21,986 / 18,872 - 1 = 16.5%; TCO net income 2,496 / 5,779 - 1 = -56.8%. Hess net income 193 / 48,000 = 0.4%. ROCE 2015-2025: 2.5, -0.1, 5.0, 8.2, 2.0, -2.8, 9.4, 20.3, 11.9, 10.1, 6.6; sum 73.1 / 11 = 6.6% average; years at or above 8%: 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 = 5 of 11. Production: Permian 1,000 / US 1,858 = 54%; 1,000 / 3,723 = 27%; Australia 472 / 3,723 = 12.7%; Q2 2026 4,070 / 3,396 - 1 = 19.8%; 4,070 / 3,120 - 1 = 30.4%. Guyana 30% x 1.7 million gross = 510 thousand. Gas: 0.91 x 6 = 5.46 per barrel of oil equivalent; 5.46 / 70.80 = 7.7%; 1.8 billion cubic feet / 6,000 = 300 thousand boe a day. Reserves: 3,723 x 365 = 1,359 million boe a year; 10,591 / 1,359 = 7.8 years. California refining 290 + 257 = 547 of 1,099 = 49.8%. Largest holders 8.56 + 7.50 + 7.00 + 6.70 = 29.76%. Balance sheet and returns: net debt 34,461 / 17,756 = 1.94, up 94%; dividends per share 6.84 / 4.28 - 1 = 59.8%; 6.84 / 6.63 = 1.03; returns 27.1 / 12.3 = 2.2 times; free cash flow 16.6 - 12.751 = 3.8 bn; buyback authorisation 75 - 44 = 31 bn; Q2 2026 buyback 3.0 bn / 16.2 million = $185 a share; shares 1,980 / 1,755 - 1 = 12.8%, 1,980 - 1,755 = 225 million; employees 43,039 / 45,600 - 1 = -5.6%; operating and SG&A 33,444 / 29,240 - 1 = 14.4%, 33,444 - 29,240 = 4,204; DD&A 20,132 / 17,282 - 1 = 16.5%, +2,850; income tax 7,258 / 12,299 = 59.0%. Valuation: trailing sales 184,432 - 90,476 + 114,755 = 208,711; trailing net income 12,299 - 5,990 + 14,282 = 20,591; 403.40 / 20.591 = 19.6 times; 403.40 / 12.299 = 32.8 times; implied forward earnings 403.40 / 12.77 = 31.6 bn, 31.6 / 12.3 = 2.6 times; trailing EPS approximately 20,591 / 1,970 = 10.45. Swings: timing 2.9 + 1.4 = 4.3 bn; international downstream 1,013 + 2,457 = 3,470. Further: California inputs 261 + 253 = 514, 514 / 1,038 = 49.5%; GS Caltex 58 / 4,403 = 1.3%, 437 / 4,403 = 9.9%; equity affiliate income 3,000 / 5,131 - 1 = -41.5%; affiliate production 538 / 3,723 = 14.5%; Hess share of 2025 production increase 261 / 385 = 67.8%; enterprise value less market value 431.95 - 403.40 = 28.55 bn; capital employed 232,934 / 177,698 - 1 = 31.1%; total assets 324,012 - 256,938 = 67,074; Hess issuance 15% / 6% = 2.5 years, 15% / 3% = 5 years; external sales 2015 downstream US 48,420 + 4,426 = 52,846, downstream international 54,296 + 2,933 = 57,229; 2020 downstream US 32,589 - 2,150 = 30,439 - segment earnings, returns and per-unit economics. — 2015-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Chevron's Forms 10-K, 10-Q, earnings releases, proxy statement and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  7. ReportedTwo of the five are in California, El Segundo and Richmond, the state whose regulation Chevron has cited in impairments and has left as a headquarters.
    Chevron Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - downstream operations and Note 14 segment sales and intersegment eliminations. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedAcross the year the American system ran at 94.5 percent utilisation in 2025.
    Chevron Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - downstream operations and Note 14 segment sales and intersegment eliminations. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedRefinery crude unit inputs rose to 1,038 thousand barrels a day from 917 thousand in 2024, and Pasadena, whose expansion lets Chevron process more of its own Permian crude, ran at 110 thousand against 65 thousand.
    Chevron Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Items 1 and 2: upstream operations, reserves, concessions and employees. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
  10. ReportedRefinery crude unit inputs rose to 1,038 thousand barrels a day from 917 thousand in 2024, and Pasadena, whose expansion lets Chevron process more of its own Permian crude, ran at 110 thousand against 65 thousand.
    Chevron Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Items 1 and 2: upstream operations, reserves, concessions and employees. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026