Chevron plans about 20 exploration wells next year and five or six appraisal wells. Exploration chief Kevin McLachlan says his exploration budget will rise more than 50% from 2025; 2026 spending is expected to exceed $1.5 billion, up from just under $1 billion in 2025.
Chevron has secured exploration blocks in Brazil, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, the Gulf of Mexico, Namibia, Peru and Suriname; its total exploration acreage has doubled since 2024. The strategy shifts from lower-risk drilling and U.S. shale toward frontier regions, with greater use of AI, stronger accountability and new hires. The planned 20 exploration wells compare with 10 wells two years earlier.
Wood Mackenzie data cited by the Financial Times show Chevron's conventional exploration and appraisal spending fell 36% to $1.82 billion in 2021–25 from the preceding five-year period. Proved reserves fell to a decade low of 9.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent at end-2024, then recovered to about 10.6 billion BOE at end-2025, mainly because of the Hess acquisition and other reserve additions. More drilling does not guarantee commercially attractive discoveries.
