Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) on Dec. 7 announced a $19.8 billion capital and exploratory investment program for 2017, down 42% from its outlays in 2015.

The 2017 budget is expected to be at least 15% lower than projected 2016 capital investments, the oil and gas major said.

"This is the fourth consecutive year of spending reductions," CEO John Watson said in a statement. "This combination of lower spending and growth in production revenues supports our overall objective of becoming cash balanced in 2017."

The 2017 capital budget will target high-return investments and completion of major projects under construction, Watson said.

Chevron said in March it would slash its capital budget by as much as 36% in 2017 and 2018.

Construction is nearing completion on several major capital projects, which are now online or will come online in the next few quarters.

San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron reported a drop in third-quarter profit in October, but the results beat expectations as cost cuts in the company's U.S. oil production division helped mitigate some of the impact of low crude prices.