Chevron Corporation ( NYSE: CVX ) posted a fourth-quarter loss of $6.6 billion versus earnings of $3.7 billion for the same period of 2018, on the back of massive write-offs of $10.4 billion predominantly in its U.S. shale gas assets. Chevron’s quarterly loss, which was the steepest in a decade , did not surprise analysts and Wall Street because the U.S. supermajor had already announced the write-off and impairment charges a month and a half ago. The write-offs were mostly attributed to the continuously depressed U.S. natural gas prices. However, Chevron’s total earnings per share excluding special items—the write-offs—and foreign currency effects, slightly beat analyst expectations. Total per-share earnings excluding special items and FX effects stood at $1.49 in the fourth quarter of 2019, down from EPS of $1.95 in 2018, but above analyst estimates of $1.47 compiled by the Wall Street Journal. Total revenues, however, missed analyst expectations. […]