Oil major ExxonMobil saw its earnings drop by five percent in the final quarter of last year compared to the prior-year period.
ExxonMobil on Friday reported estimated fourth quarter 2019 earnings of $5.7 billion.
Earnings included favorable identified items of about $3.9 billion, mainly a $3.7 billion gain from the Norway upstream divestment. To remind, ExxonMobil last year sold its offshore oil field interests in Norway to Vår Energi for $4.5 billion.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, ExxonMobil’s earnings totaled $6 billion.
Capital and exploration expenditures were $8.5 billion, including key investments in the Permian Basin. In the same period of 2018, ExxonMobil’s expenditures were $7.8 billion.
Oil-equivalent production was in line with the fourth quarter of 2018, at 4 million barrels per day, with a 4 percent increase in liquids offset by a 5 percent decrease in gas.
“Our operations performed well, while short-term supply length in the downstream and chemicals businesses impacted margins and financial results,” said Darren W. Woods , chairman and chief executive officer.
“Growth in demand for the products that underpin our businesses remains strong.”
For the full year 2019, ExxonMobil’s earnings decreased by 31% totaling $14.3 billion when compared to 2018’s earnings of $20.8 billion.
Earlier this week, ExxonMobil increased its estimated recoverable resource base in Guyana to more than 8 billion oil equivalent barrels and made a further oil discovery northeast of the producing Liza field at the Uaru exploration well, the 16th discovery on the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
The new estimate includes 15 discoveries offshore Guyana through year-end 2019 and the Uaru discovery is the first of 2020 and will be added to the resource estimate at a later date.