Chevron Corporation last Thursday reported in its interim update that earnings for the fourth quarter 2013 are expected to be comparable with third quarter 2013 results, although its profit is expected to plunge 31% from a year ago during the fourth quarter.

Upstream earnings for the fourth quarter are projected to be lower than the prior quarter, while downstream earnings are expected to be higher.

U.S. refinery crude-input volumes were higher mainly due to the absence of planned maintenance activity in the third quarter at the El Segundo, California refinery. International refinery crude-input volumes were down slightly compared to the third quarter.

U.S. net oil-equivalent production was lower, primarily due to planned downtime across multiple assets in the Gulf of Mexico. International net oil-equivalent production was lower compared to the third quarter, reflecting maintenance activity in Australia and downtime at the LNG facility in Angola.

The interim update contains industry and company operating data for the first two months of the fourth quarter. Readers are advised that the data compares results for the first two months of the fourth quarter 2013 to full third quarter 2013 results.