NEW YORK, United States – CHEVRON Corp said yesterday it plans to shrink its refining business in a move that will cut jobs throughout the company.

Chevron hasn’t yet decided how many of its employees will be affected and whether the cuts will be concentrated in the US. A spokesman said the company is reviewing its entire downstream operation and will announce more details about how it plans to reorganise in March.

Chevron’s refining business will be “a less complex and smaller organisation that will require fewer positions”, spokesman Lloyd Avram said.

Petroleum refineries have struggled to make money as oil prices doubled from early 2009 while demand for gasoline and jet fuel dropped. Independent refiners shuttered some of their operations last year, and others are running at the lowest levels since 1991.

Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, has warned investors that profits will shrink in the fourth quarter, primarily because of its refining business.

According to an interim report released earlier this month, Chevron said fourth-quarter profit margins were about 39 per cent lower than last year for its Gulf Coast refineries. They were 59 per cent lower in Singapore and 45 per cent lower in Europe.

Avram said the company hasn’t decided when to announce job cuts. However, changes to the company’s refining business are expected to be in place by the third quarter, he said.

Chevron shares gave up six cents at US$79.17 in yesterday’s trading.