In the preceding quarter, Q2 2024, the oil and gas major’s earnings amounted to $9.24bn.
Earnings per share (EPS) for Q3 2024 stood at $1.92, compared to $2.25 during the third quarter of 2023. In Q2 2024, EPS was $2.14.
Total revenues and other income for Q3 2024, which ended on 30 September, reached $90bn, a minor decline from $90.76bn reported for Q3 2023.
Year-to-date earnings for ExxonMobil were $26.1bn, compared to $28.4bn in the same period last year.
The company attributed the reduction in earnings to lower industry refining margins and a decline in natural gas prices from the historically high levels seen last year. However, these were partially offset by favourable timing effects, mainly related to derivatives mark-to-market impacts.
ExxonMobil stated that there was strong volume growth from the Guyana and Permian assets, including the integration of Pioneer. Increased sales of high-value products offset the decline in base volumes due to divestments of non-strategic assets and scheduled maintenance activities.
Structural cost savings partially mitigated the impact of higher expenses linked to depreciation, maintenance, new business development, and upcoming project launches in 2025, said ExxonMobil.
The firm’s upstream segment delivered earnings of $6.2bn for Q3 2024, reflecting a decrease of $916m compared to the previous quarter, primarily due to lower crude price realisations and increased exploration costs. This was partly offset by record production, with liquid volumes reaching their highest level in 40 years, supported by structural cost savings.
Net production in Q3 2024 was 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, marking a 5% increase or 224,000 barrels per day compared to the prior quarter. Year-to-date net production rose by 14%, reaching 4.2 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, representing an increase of 534,000 barrels per day.
In the energy products division, third-quarter earnings totalled $1.3bn, representing an increase of $400m from Q2 2024.
ExxonMobil’s chemicals division reported earnings of $893m for Q3 2024, marking the highest earnings in over two years, compared to $779m in the previous quarter. This increase was driven by improved margins due to reduced North American feed costs and growth in high-value product sales.
ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Darren Woods said: “We delivered one of our strongest third quarters in a decade.
“Our industry-leading results continue to demonstrate how our enterprise-wide transformation is improving the structural earnings power of the company. In the Upstream, we’ve doubled the profitability of the barrels we produce on a constant price basis.
“In Product Solutions, we’ve high-graded our refining footprint and increased high-value product sales. And across the entire company, we’ve achieved $11.3bn of structural cost savings since 2019.”
