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Chevron plans to raise the number of exploration wells to about 20, expanding its presence in Africa, South America and the Mediterranean

Chevron exploration vice president Kevin McLachlan, who took office in November 2025 and previously worked at TotalEnergies, said in an interview with the Financial Times that the company is expanding its exploration activity in frontier regions, focusing on South America, sub-Saharan Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, in search of large discoveries. This shift comes after the company for years concentrated investment on lower-risk drilling and U.S. shale assets.

McLachlan said the exploration budget under his responsibility will increase by more than 50% from 2025. Two years ago, the company drilled 10 wells; next year it plans to drill 20 exploration wells, plus about 5 to 6 appraisal wells. The company has increased spending on seismic data and is testing artificial intelligence tools under the “exploration moonshot” project to analyze large volumes of seismic data and identify prospects; in testing, the forecast accuracy for discovery wells and dry holes reached 90%. Since 2024, Chevron’s total exploration acreage has doubled, and last year the company secured blocks in Brazil, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, the Gulf of Mexico, Namibia, Peru and Suriname, among other areas.

Wood Mackenzie data show that Chevron’s spending on conventional exploration and appraisal in 2021–2025 fell 36% from the previous five-year period, to $1.82 billion. McLachlan said the increase in spending is aimed at gaining more exposure and reversing exploration performance. The company is also advancing early discovery evaluation in places such as Angola.

In the first half of 2026, Chevron’s net profit attributable to the company was about $14.28 billion, above the about $12.3 billion level for full-year 2025. Oil prices rose over the same period because of geopolitical factors. The above exploration plans are the company’s intentions and budget arrangements; specific drilling results, discovery size and commercialization progress have not yet been determined.

Original sources:

  1. Title: Chevron plans drilling spree as it overhauls oil and gas search Publisher: Financial Times (interview with Kevin McLachlan) Date: 2026-09-20 URL: https://www.ft.com/content/bbf1d846-7d89-45f6-8c0f-1fba1e334b4b Source type: media report (original interview) Verification: relevant reporting summary and direct quotations were read for this item, verification date 2026-10-29 Supported content: frontier-region布局 (South America, sub-Saharan Africa, eastern Mediterranean), budget increase of more than 50% from 2025, plan for 20 exploration wells, AI use and 90% test accuracy, exploration acreage doubled since 2024, block acquisition

  2. Title: cvx-20260630 (10-Q) and related financial results Publisher: Chevron / SEC Date: 2026-08 (Q2) and 2026-01 (FY2025) URL: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000093410/000009341026000167/cvx-20260630.htm Source type: official document Verification: the profit data section was read for this item, verification date 2026-10-29 Supported content: net profit of about $14.28 billion in the first half of 2026; net profit of about $12.3 billion for full-year 2025

  3. Title: Exclusive | Chevron Is Back to Searching for Oil and Gas in Far-Flung Places Publisher: The Wall Street Journal Date: 2026-10-29 URL: https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/chevron-is-back-to-searching-for-oil-and-gas-in-far-flung-places-85082fbf Source type: media report Verification: public summary and headline were read for this item; the full text is behind a paywall, verification date 2026-10-29 Supported content: the company has resumed exploration in remote frontier areas; background that energy-market disruptions after the Iran war pushed up profits

ABAB AI Insight

During his time at TotalEnergies, Kevin McLachlan led teams that helped make discoveries such as Venus in Namibia and was repeatedly recognized by Wood Mackenzie as a “most admired explorer.” Chevron recruited him as exploration vice president in 2025 to improve its previously weak exploration performance. The company had previously directed more capital toward U.S. shale, especially the Permian, and toward lower-risk projects, while conventional exploration spending declined noticeably in 2021–2025.

The current path is to use cash flow from high oil prices to increase seismic data acquisition and frontier-basin block holdings, while introducing AI tools to help identify prospects. Funds are flowing toward new block acquisition, seismic interpretation and drilling activity, with the goal of generating commercially viable reserves rather than merely relying on production from existing asset decline. Exploration spending still accounts for a relatively limited share of overall capital expenditure, but the direction is shifting from “near mature areas” to “greater exposure to new basins.”

Compared with peers such as ExxonMobil, Chevron had previously focused more on shale growth, and its international high-impact exploration lagged behind. Wood Mackenzie once described it as a “returnee.” This plan significantly expands both the number of wells and acreage, but success still depends on geological results and subsequent development economics, and is not automatically equivalent to TotalEnergies’ historically high-success path.

This adjustment changes the weight of “new reserve discoveries” in Chevron’s upstream portfolio: against the backdrop of Permian maturing gradually, the company is trying to replenish long-term reserve replacement by increasing frontier well numbers and acreage exposure. The key indicators are the results of exploration wells actually completed around 2027, and whether these discoveries can be turned into economically developable projects.

ABAB News · Cognition Laws

  1. High oil-price cash flow can be used to expand frontier-basin exposure, but more wells do not mean discovery success rates rise in tandem.

  2. Shifting capital from mature shale to new basins requires investment in both seismic data and interpretation tools; otherwise, acreage expansion is difficult to turn into drillable prospects.

  3. AI tools can improve seismic interpretation efficiency, but their final value still depends on actual drilling results and commercialization conditions.