(Updated - October 30, 2015 8:32 AM EDT)

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) reported Q3 EPS of $1.09, $0.26 better than the analyst estimate of $0.83. Revenue for the quarter came in at $33 billion versus the consensus estimate of $31.1 billion.

“Third quarter earnings were down substantially from a year ago,” said Chairman and CEO John Watson. “While downstream earnings remained strong, lower overall earnings reflected weaker market prices for both crude oil and natural gas, which depressed upstream profitability. We are focused on improving results by changing outcomes within our control. Operating and administrative expenses are 7 percent lower than last year, and we expect further reductions in the quarters ahead.”

“We expect capital and exploratory expenditures for 2016 to be $25-28 billion, roughly 25 percent lower than this year’s budget,” Watson continued. “We expect further reductions in spending for 2017 and 2018, to the $20 to $24 billion range, depending on business conditions at the time. With the lower investment, we anticipate reducing our employee workforce by 6–7,000.”

“We continue to make good progress on our asset sales program,” Watson continued. “In the last two years we’ve generated $11 billion in proceeds. We expect $5-10 billion in additional proceeds by the end of 2017.”

Recent company milestones include:

• Australia – Continued to progress commissioning activities in preparation for start-up of Train 1 of the Gorgon Project. The Jansz-Io Field subsea infrastructure is fully complete. The first two wells have been opened to the Jansz pipeline, confirming the full operability of these subsea systems. All Train 2 modules are set on foundations and construction is progressing on critical path activities. Nine of 13 Train 3 modules have been delivered to site and set on foundations.
• Australia – Continued progress on construction of the Wheatstone Project. All subsea equipment and flowlines are installed and offshore platform hook-up and commissioning is progressing on plan. Seventeen of 24 Train 1 process modules required for first LNG have been delivered to site.
• United States – Announced a successful appraisal well at the Anchor prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Chevron (CVX) click here.