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Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Business Environment and Outlook

Chevron is a global energy company with substantial business activities in the following countries: Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Partitioned Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Philippines, Republic of Congo, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela.

Earnings of the company depend mostly on the profitability of its upstream business segment. The biggest factor affecting the results of operations for the upstream segment is the price of crude oil. The price of crude oil has fallen significantly since mid-year 2014. The downturn in the price of crude oil has impacted the company's results of operations, cash flows, leverage, capital and exploratory investment program and production outlook. A sustained lower price environment could result in the impairment or write-off of specific assets in future periods. The company has responded with reductions in operating expenses, pacing and re-focusing of capital and exploratory expenditures, and increased asset sales. The company anticipates that crude oil prices will increase in the future, as continued growth in demand and a slowing in supply growth should bring global markets into balance; however, the timing of any such increase is unknown. In the company's downstream business, crude oil is the largest cost component of refined products. It is the company's objective to deliver competitive results and shareholder value in any business environment.

The effective tax rate for the company can change substantially during periods of significant earnings volatility. This is due to the mix effects that are impacted both by the absolute level of earnings or losses and whether they arise in higher or lower tax rate jurisdictions. As a result, a decline or increase in the effective income tax rate in one period may not be indicative of expected results in future periods. Note 18 provides the company’s effective income tax rate for the last three years.

Refer to the "Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information" on page 2 and to "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A, on pages 19 through 22 for a discussion of some of the inherent risks that could materially impact the company's results of operations or financial condition.

The company continually evaluates opportunities to dispose of assets that are not expected to provide sufficient long-term value or to acquire assets or operations complementary to its asset base to help augment the company’s financial performance and value growth. The company's asset sale program for 2016 and 2017 targeted before-tax proceeds of $5-10 billion. Proceeds and deposits related to asset sales were $2.8 billion in 2016