December 10, 2024 [Eastern Progress]- ExxonMobil reported a dip in third-quarter profits Friday on lower earnings from its refining business, but the results were strong enough to enable nearly $10 billion in shareholder distributions.
The big US oil company, which saw upstream oil production rise following its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, pointed to the benefits of $11.3 billion in “structural cost savings” as a driver of the results.
The oil giant returned $9.8 billion to investors in the three-month period, up from $9.5 billion in the second quarter. ExxonMobil lifted the dividend by four percent, in addition to making share repurchases.
Net profits in the third quarter were $8.6 billion, down 5.1 percent from the year-ago period.
While earnings were higher in upstream and chemical products, ExxonMobil saw a big drop in energy products results due to weakened refinery margins.
The company pointed to record oil and natural gas output in Guyana and strong results in the Permian Basin, a shale region in Texas and New Mexico.
Crude oil prices have fallen about 15 percent since the end of the second quarter, a dynamic that Chief Executive Darren Woods said reflected a market imbalance.
“We’re seeing record levels of demand for oil, record levels for demand for products coming out of refinery, petroleum products,” Woods told CNBC.
“But we also see a lot of supply in the world right now, and a lot of that supply is coming out of the US, and the unconventional developments that we have here in the US, and so it’s basically a supply-driven price environment right now.”
At Chevron, profits came in at $4.5 billion, down 31 percent from the year-ago level.
Chevron’s earnings were also dented by lower refining margins, although it also enjoyed record oil and natural gas production from the Permian Basin.
Chevron returned $7.7 billion to shareholders during the quarter, which the company said was a record.
Shares of ExxonMobil rose 1.9 percent in pre-market trading, while Chevron gained 2.0 percent.
Free Trial: Access 13,300 Tank Terminal and Production Facilities
13,300 tank storage and production facilities as per the date of this article. Click on the button and register to get instant access to actionable tank storage industry data
