Chevron

It's not quite the Gulf Coast, but Salt Lake City has developed a persistent problem with oil spills. The federal Department of Transportation ordered Chevron this week to temporarily close a pipeline running through the city after the second spill there in six months. The first incident happened in June while the BP spill was gushing thousands of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. The Salt Lake City pipeline, which carries oil from a western Colorado terminal to a Utah refinery, leaked, sending 800 gallons into the Jordan River.

Chevron Corp. said Thursday that it would increase spending on exploration to drive production growth in 2011, but that it would devote fewer resources to the part of its business that makes, transports and sells gasoline, diesel and other products. Total capital spending for the San Ramon, Calif.-based company next year will be $26 billion, about 20% more than for this year, Chevron said. The increase will be going "upstream," or into exploration and production of oil and natural gas. More than $17 billion of that amount will be spent overseas, the company said.

For nearly a century, oil tankers from around the globe have docked just off the shore of El Segundo to pump crude into one of the largest refineries on the West Coast. Now, the Chevron Corp. is asking the state for an additional 30 years. The California State Lands Commission is expected to vote Friday on an agreement that would charge the oil company a base rent of $1.3 million a year to lease the state-controlled tidelands for its El Segundo Offshore Marine Oil Terminal through 2040.

For more than half a century, beachgoers have had their views of the Santa Monica Bay disturbed on a near-daily basis. What should be a pristine panorama of sky, sunlight and surf is interrupted by massive tankers unloading crude oil, which is then transported through a pipeline to the Chevron refinery in El Segundo. About 350 tankers each year offload more than 4 billion gallons of crude oil at the bay's offshore mooring. Now, Chevron's lease on state lands that house the offshore marine oil terminal is up for renewal.

It wasn't exactly a Michael Jordan moment. Tiger Woods did not stand up after his Sunday round of golf at the Chevron World Challenge and declare: "I'm back!" But even in his defeat, the signs were there that the game of golf ? representing millions of fans and millions of sponsorship dollars ? may be at least temporarily saved from its worst fear: the loss of a competitive Tiger. When Woods shot 65-66-68 in the first three rounds of this late-season, mostly-for-charity event in Thousand Oaks, ears that had tuned out news of Tiger perked up again.

Despite blowing a four-shot lead and his best chance of winning his first golf tournament since his personal life fell apart on a global stage a year ago, Tiger Woods said Sunday he was optimistic about his future. "Even though I made countless mistakes in the middle part of the round, it said a lot for me to come back and put my swing back together again" late in the round, Woods said after Graeme McDowell beat him on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday to win the Chevron World Challenge.

After stretching his lead in the Chevron World Challenge, Tiger Woods was asked several different ways how it felt to again top the leaderboard after two rounds. "I've been here before," Woods said Friday in his best attempt to downplay the significance of leading a 72-hole tournament ? one with only 18, albeit very good, players ? after 36 holes. "It's not a strange feeling. " But it's not a recent one, either. Woods' play this week might have been met with a collective shrug two years ago. But in the aftermath of his personal scandal, his delayed return to competitive golf and his winless season, the two-day performance of the world's former No. 1 golfer was notable.

Chevron Corp. said Tuesday that it would buy Atlas Energy Inc. for $3.2 billion in cash as the oil giant bolsters its market position in the U.S. shale-gas business. Stockholders of Pittsburgh-based Atlas Energy will receive $38.25 in cash for each of their shares, Chevron said, plus $5.09 a share to reflect the value of Atlas Energy's stake in Atlas Pipeline Holdings, for a total purchase price of $43.34 a share. The deal includes the assumption of $1.1 billion in debt. "This acquisition is the right opportunity for Chevron," said George Kirkland, the San Ramon, Calif.

Chevron Corp. said Friday that third-quarter earnings slipped despite more production and higher oil prices, attributing much of the decline to costs from a deepwater drilling moratorium declared in the wake of BP's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The San Ramon, Calif., company also blamed currency fluctuations for helping shrink profit, which fell short of Wall Street's expectations and the performance of rival energy companies. Chevron shares fell $1.84, or 2.2%, to $82.60. Chevron Chief Executive John S. Watson said in a statement that he hoped the drain caused by the temporary moratorium would be reversed quickly.