U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil booked a quarterly profit due to benefits of higher commodity prices and structural cost reductions .
ExxonMobil last Friday posted estimated earnings of $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021 compared with a loss of $610 million in the same quarter last year .
The company stated that the positive results reflect the benefits of higher commodity prices and ExxonMobil’s focus on structural cost reductions while prioritizing investments in assets with a low cost of supply.
Results included unfavourable identified items of $31 million. First-quarter capital and exploration expenditures were $3.1 billion, $4 billion lower than the first quarter of 2020.
ExxonMobil also pointed out that cash flow from operating activities was $9.3 billion while debt reduction amounted to $4 billion.
During the quarter, the company advanced several initiatives to reduce emissions and launched its Low Carbon Solutions business to commercialize an extensive low-carbon technology portfolio one of which is a vision for a massive $100 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Houston .
Oil-equivalent production was 3.8 million barrels per day, up 3 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2020. Excluding entitlement effects, government mandates and divestments, oil-equivalent production was up 2 per cent.
Darren Woods , chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil, said: “ Cash flow from operating activities during the quarter fully covered the dividend and capital investments, and we strengthened the balance sheet by reducing debt.
“ We also made progress on our energy transition strategy by launching our new ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions business, which is initially working to develop innovative, large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) concepts, including the evaluation and advancement of more than 20 new opportunities, such as a multi-industry hub to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industries near the Houston Ship Channel.
“ As the global leader in carbon capture, we are seeing growing public and private sector support for CCS as a critical enabling technology to reduce emissions and help meet society’s net-zero ambitions ”.
During the quarter, ExxonMobil announced the elections of Michael Angelakis , Jeffrey Ubben , and Wan Zulkiflee to its board of directors. With the addition of the new members, the ExxonMobil board increased to 13 directors, 12 of whom are independent.