LNG

Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods anticipates first LNG at Golden Pass LNG terminal will be “produced in very early March.” The $10 billion liquefaction terminal near Sabine Pass, jointly owned by Exxon Mobil and QatarEnergy, will become one of the newest US LNG export plants as it advances through commissioning.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. reported first-quarter declines in profits and revenues on lower natural gas prices while both are advancing with their major takeover transactions amid a pre-emption dispute over key assets in the new South American oil and gas hub of Guyana.

ExxonMobil Corp. has told investors about the latest schedules for its various liquefied natural gas projects worldwide including a delay in the “mechanical completion” of the Golden Pass LNG export plant on the Gulf Coast and with progress promised in 2024 on Mozambique LNG and on the expansion joint venture in Papua New Guinea.

ExxonMobil Corp., the US major and significant participant in the liquefied natural gas business, said oil, pipeline natural gas and LNG would still make up more than half of the world’s energy supply through 2050 because the usefulness of oil and gas in meeting the world’s needs remained unmatched.

ExxonMobil Corp., the largest US oil and natural gas major, plans to acquire Denbury Inc., the developer of carbon-capture and storage (CCS) solutions and with assets in the LNG production hub area of the US Gulf Coast, for $4.9 billion in an all-share transaction.

ExxonMobil Corp., the largest US oil company and leading LNG producer and a partner of Qatar, said changes in natural gas prices would impact its second-quarter Upstream earnings by $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion compared with the first quarter even as the company was also overhauling trading activities and embarking on oil projects in Guyana and LNG expansion.

ExxonMobil Corp., the leading global oil and gas company and LNG market operator, indicated that first-quarter earnings could fall by up to 25 percent from the previous quarter because of falling prices and other factors.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the leading global oil and gas company and LNG market operator, posted a record $56 billion net profit for 2022 and fourth-quarter earnings of $12.8Bln amid Russian expropriations while it is also being forced to sue the European Union over  $1.3Bln of “unfavorable items” associated with additional taxes on the US shareholder-owned company.

ExxonMobil said upstream earnings potential was expected to double by 2027 from three years ago with more than 70 percent of capital investments being deployed in strategic developments in LNG projects around the world and in the US Permian Basin as well as in the South American nations of Guyana and Brazil.

The Irving, Texas-based major said that by 2027, upstream production is expected to grow by 500,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day to 4.2 million oil-equivalent barrels per day with more than 50 percent of the total to come from these key growth areas.

“Around 90 percent of upstream investments that bring on new oil and flowing gas production are expected to have returns greater than 10 percent at prices less than or equal to $35 per barrel, while also reducing upstream operated greenhouse-gas emissions intensity by 40-50 percent through 2030, compared to 2016 levels,” said ExxonMobil.

Corporate plan

The details came in ExxonMobil’s just issued corporate plan for the next five years, with a sizeable increase in investments aimed at emission reductions.

ExxonMobil’s priority LNG production areas are at the Golden Pass project in Texas, in the southeast African nation of Mozambique, in Papua New Guinea and in Qatar where its main partner is QatarEnergy.

The corporate plan through 2027 maintains annual capital expenditures at $20 billion to $25 billion, while growing lower-emissions investments to about $17Bln.

ExxonMobil forecast that earnings and cash flow growth was expected to double by 2027 compared with 2019.

There would also be share-repurchase program expanded up to $50Bln through 2024, including $15Bln in 2022.

“Our five-year plan is expected to drive leading business outcomes and is a continuation of the path that has delivered industry-leading results in 2022,” said Darren Woods, Chairman and Chief Executive.

“We view our success as an ‘and’ equation, one in which we can produce the energy and products society needs - and - be a leader in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from our own operations and also those from other companies,” added Woods.

The corporate plan we’re laying out today reflects that view, and the results we’ve seen to date demonstrate that we’re on the right course.”

The company also remained on track to deliver a total of about $9 billion in structural cost reductions by year-end 2023 versus 2019.

In the Permian, the company said it was on track with its goal to reach net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its operated unconventional assets by 2030.

“We’re aggressively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our operations, and our 2030 emission-reduction plans are on track to achieve a 40-50 percent reduction in upstream greenhouse-gas intensity, compared to 2016 levels,” added Woods.

“We will continue to advocate for clear and consistent government policies that accelerate progress to a lower-emissions future. At the same time, we’ll continue to work to provide solutions that can help customers in other industries reduce their emissions, especially in higher-emitting sectors of the economy like manufacturing, transportation and power generation,” stated the CEO.

ExxonMobil Corp., the long-standing partner of Qatar in oil and gas and LNG, has become as expected the fourth signatory of a joint venture stake in the North Field East LNG expansion project.