The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Majors enjoy profits surge
US oil majors Chevron and ExxonMobil both enjoyed an upsurge in their first quarter profits, thanks to higher oil prices and lower costs.
Chevron, which has interests in 10 producing North Sea fields, reported pre-tax profits of £2.4billion for the first three months of 2017, compared to losses of £1.3billion a year earlier. Revenue jumped 42% to £25.8billion as the price it fetched per barrel of oil increased by about 70% year-on-year.
Production increased by 3% during the quarter and the firm is on course to meet its 4-9% output growth target for full-year 2017.
Chevron, which operates the Alba, Captain and Erskine fields in the UK North Sea, also made £460million from
“Our results reflect higher commodity prices”
the sale of its Indonesian geothermal business.
Operating expenses were 14% lower than in the first quarter of 2016.
Pre-tax profits at ExxonMobil, which has interests in about 40 North Sea fields, soared 247% to £4.5billion.
Exxon chalked up revenue of £49billion in the first quarter, a 30% increase year-on-year.
Capital and exploration spending in the latest period was £3.2billion, down 19%.
Exxon chief executive Darren Woods said: “Our results reflect an increase in commodity prices and highlight our continued focus on costs and efficiency.”