Exxon Mobil Corp. earned an estimated $5.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 with oil-equivalent production at 4 million barrels per day, the company said in its earnings report.
The company had a 4-percent increase in liquids offset by a 5-percent decrease in gas. The company also increased its liquid production by 2 percent, driven by Permian Basin growth, while natural gas volumes decreased 4 percent.
“Our operations performed well, while short-term supply length in the downstream and chemicals businesses impacted margins and financial results,” said ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren W. Woods.
“Growth in demand for the products that underpin our businesses remains strong. We remain focused on improving our base businesses, driving efficiencies and optimizing the value of our investment portfolio.”
For its downstream operations, Exxon stated industry fuel margins were significantly lower than third quarter, reflecting seasonally lower demand and increased supply from reduced industry maintenance.
The company reported that scheduled refinery maintenance was higher in the fourth quarter, including turnarounds at the company’s refineries in Beaumont, Texas, Altona (Australia), Fawley (United Kingdom), Nanticoke (Canada), Sarnia (Canada) and Sriracha (Thailand).
As for its chemical operations, Exxon reported that margins weakened further during the quarter from already depressed levels, with supply length from recent industry capacity additions and higher feed costs.
The company continues to progress the development of lower-emissions technologies to address the risks of climate change, it said in the report. ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy Inc. announced a new, two-year expanded joint-development agreement to further enhance carbonate fuel cell technology for the purpose of capturing carbon dioxide from industrial facilities.
The agreement will focus efforts on optimizing the core technology, overall process integration and large-scale deployment of carbon capture solutions. ExxonMobil also signed an agreement with Porthos, the Port of Rotterdam’s transport hub and offshore storage project. The Porthos project intends to construct a pipeline system to collect carbon dioxide from industrial sites within the Port of Rotterdam and transport the molecules offshore for permanent geologic storage.
