balances were $8.8 billion and $9.6 billion at December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Cash provided by operating activities in 2009 was $19.4 billion, compared with $29.6 billion in 2008 and $25.0 billion in 2007.

Cash provided by operating activities was net of contributions to employee pension plans of approximately $1.7 billion, $800 million and $300 million in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Cash provided by investing activities included proceeds and deposits related to asset sales of $2.6 billion in 2009, $1.5 billion in 2008 and $3.3 billion in 2007.

     Restricted cash of $123 million and $367 million associated with various capital-investment projects at December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, was invested in short-term marketable securities and recorded as “Deferred charges and other assets” on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

     Dividends Dividends paid to common stockholders were approximately $5.3 billion in 2009, $5.2 billion in 2008 and $4.8 billion in 2007. In July 2009, the company increased its quarterly common stock dividend by 4.6 percent to $0.68 per share.

     Debt and capital lease obligations Total debt and capital lease obligations were $10.5 billion at December 31, 2009, up from $8.9 billion at year-end 2008.

     The $1.6 billion increase in total debt and capital lease obligations during 2009 included the net effect of a $5 billion public bond issuance, a $350 million issuance of tax-exempt Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds, a $3.2 billion decrease in commercial paper, and a $400 million payment of principal for Texaco Capital Inc. bonds that matured in January 2009. The company’s debt and capital lease obligations due within one year, consisting primarily of commercial paper and the current portion of long-term debt, totaled $4.6 billion at 

December 31, 2009, down from $7.8 billion at year-end 2008. Of these amounts, $4.2 billion and $5.0 billion were reclassified to long-term at the end of each period, respectively. At year-end 2009, settlement of these obligations was not expected to require the use of working capital in 2010, as the company had the intent and the ability, as evidenced by committed credit facilities, to refinance them on a long-term basis.

     At year-end 2009, the company had $5.1 billion in committed credit facilities with various major banks, which permit the refinancing of short-term obligations on a long-term basis. These facilities support commercial paper borrowing and also can be used for general corporate purposes. The company’s practice has been to continually replace expiring commitments with new commitments on substantially the same terms, maintaining levels management believes appropriate. Any borrowings under the facilities would be unsecured indebtedness at interest rates based on London Interbank Offered Rate or an average of base lending rates published by specified banks and on terms reflecting the company’s strong credit rating. No borrowings were outstanding under these facilities at December 31, 2009. In addition, the company has an automatic shelf registration statement that expires in March 2010 for an unspecified amount of nonconvertible debt securities