Chevron Corp reported a fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $5.1 billion, or $2.65 a share, on profits from pumping oil that rose about five times compared to the pandemic-hit results in 2020. Analysts had expected a $3.12 per share profit, according to Refinitiv. Chevron earned $15.6 billion in net income in 2021, making it the most profitable year for the company since 2014.

Chevron shares reached an all-time high in the hopes that high oil prices will continue to drive earnings. Shares traded up 2% to $135.37, topping the previous high of $133.60 four years ago.

The company said its first quarter share buybacks would be at the higher end of the $3 billion to $5 billion annual range it had estimated last year. Chevron raised its dividend by 6% to $1.42 per share earlier this week.

Chevron reduced spending on new projects in 2020 as the pandemic set in, sending profits soaring as oil and gas prices rebounded. The benchmark price of oil last quarter averaged $79 per barrel compared with $43 a year earlier.

In its oil and gas producing business, Chevron reported operating profit of $5.2 billion, up from $501 million in the same period a year ago, but below analyst expectations for an about $6.6 billion operating profit.

Worldwide oil and gas production was 3.12 million barrels per day in fourth quarter 2021, 5% down from a year ago. Worldwide net oil and gas production for the full-year 2021 was 3.1 million barrels per day, a slight increase from a year ago.