Some $11.6 billion of Chevron’s $19.8-billion capital spending plan will target international upstream projects. For a fourth consecutive year, Chevron Corp. will reduce spending in its capital budget, which is expected to make its 2017 capital investment plan less than that for 2016 by about 15 percent. Chairman and CEO John Watson said the $19.8-billion plan – representing a 42-percent drop from 2015 – targets shorter cycle time, high-return investments and completing major projects already underway. “Construction is nearing completion on several major capital projects, which are now online or expected to come online in the next few quarters. This combination of lower spending and growth in production revenues supports our overall objective of becoming cash balanced in 2017,” Watson said in a statement released after U.S. markets closed Wednesday. A quarter of the spending – $4.7 billion – is earmarked for planned affiliate expenses, the company said in […]