ExxonMobil doubles quarterly profit

The U.S. energy group ExxonMobil has closed the first quarter with a significant jump in earnings. The sharp rise in energy prices in the first three months of this year not only increased sales, (+ 53 percent to 90.5 billion U.S. dollars), the quarterly profit also improved significantly. At US$5.5 billion, ExxonMobil earned twice as much as in the previous year (US$2.7 billion). Cash flow from operating activities amounted to 14.8 billion US dollars.

However, the good figures were marred by write-downs amounting to billions. ExxonMobil announced at the beginning of March that it was withdrawing from its upstream business in Russia. Write-downs on the Sakhalin-1 production project affected by the decision also amounted to $3.4 billion.

Upstream profits improved to $4.5 billion in the first three months of the current year from $2.6 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Said higher oil and gas prices kept Exxon's coffers ringing, as production - due to weather - was 3.7 million barrels per day, down slightly from 3.8 million barrels per day in Q1/21.

The downstream business contributed slightly less in the first quarter than a year earlier. Profits decreased to $332 million from $390 million in Q1/21 due to lower processing volumes due to turnarounds. Overall, however, the processing business has recently been very profitable; according to Exxon, refining margins improved by the end of the first quarter to levels above those of the last ten years.