Exxon registers highest profit since 2014 on boost from oil and gas prices

Exxon registers highest profit since 2014 on boost from oil and gas prices

ExxonMobil registered its highest quarterly profit since 2014 as rising oil and gas prices boosted the American oil supermajor’s earnings.

The Texas-based company’s $8.9bn fourth-quarter profit easily beat Wall Street’s expectations of $8.4bn, according to estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ. Exxon’s full-year 2021 profit was $23bn, reversing a hefty $22.4bn loss in 2020 amid the pandemic-driven market collapse.

The company said it was using the influx of cash to launch a $10bn share buyback programme, and that it had paid back much of the debt it took on during the 2020 market downturn.

“Our effective pandemic response, focused investments during the down-cycle, and structural cost savings positioned us to realise the full benefits of the market recovery in 2021,” said Darren Woods, Exxon chief executive.

Brent crude prices surged to more than $91 a barrel on Monday for the first time since 2014, although prices fell back to less than $90 by Tuesday. Fears that the global recovery in oil demand is outpacing new supplies, and that a potential clash in Ukraine could further disrupt markets, has driven prices higher.

Exxon’s shares were trading nearly 1.5 per cent higher after the earnings release. Its shares have surged about 12 per cent higher since the