Chevron halts buybacks as oil slump prompts budget squeeze

New York

CHEVRON Corp slashed its drilling budget by the most in 12 years, suspended share buybacks and laid off workers as energy producers around the world curtail ambitions to cope with free-falling oil prices.

Chevron lowered its 2015 capital-spending target by 13 per cent to US$35 billion and halted stock repurchases that absorbed US$5 billion in cash last year. The San Ramon, California-based company reported a 30 per cent drop in earnings from the year-ago period.