Energy
Chevron Corp.
Water dependencyHigh
Chevron Corp. is an energy company based in Houston, Texas, involved in oil and gas production, refining, fuels, petrochemicals, lubricants, and lower-carbon technologies. Since these operations require cooling water and produce wastewater, water management is part of Chevron's environmental effort.
Chevron's most notable water-saving project was at its El Segundo Refinery, where it reused recovery-well water to cool the wastewater-treatment plant. This cut the facility's need for freshwater by 60% and reduced annual freshwater withdrawals by about 113,000 cubic meters. Chevron also tested ceramic-membrane technology for recycling produced water in Colorado, worked with Texas A&M on reclaimed-water irrigation research, and recovered about 3 metric tons of oil from over 40 metric tons of oily sludge at the Cymric Oilfield.
These efforts remain small compared to Chevron's total impact: companywide freshwater withdrawal rose from 63 million cubic meters in 2023 to 69 million cubic meters in 2024.
3 Key Metrics of Chevron Corp, 2024
- Total water use / consumption / withdrawal
- Freshwater withdrawal: 69 million cubic meters; non-freshwater withdrawal: 32 million cubic meters; calculated total withdrawal: 101 million cubic meters; freshwater consumption: 67 million cubic meters.
- Water intensity
- Upstream: 0.11 barrel of water per barrel of oil-equivalent; refining: 0.59 barrel per barrel of feedstock.
- Water-stressed region exposure
- 36% of freshwater withdrawal and 36% of freshwater consumption.
Supplemental metrics
- Water recycled/reused
- El Segundo cooling-water reuse reduced freshwater demand by 60%.
- Project-level water savings
- Approximately 113,000 cubic meters annually.
Analysis reference: chevron-corp