ExxonMobil Earns $3.2 Billion in Third Quarter 2019

• Cash flow from operating activities of $9.1 billion
• Upstream liquids production grows by 5 percent from a year earlier, driven by the Permian Basin
• Agreement to sell Norway upstream assets marks significant progress on divestment plans

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM):

Exxon Mobil Corporation today announced estimated third quarter 2019 earnings of $3.2 billion, or $0.75 per share assuming dilution. Earnings included a favorable tax-related identified item of about $300 million, or $0.07 per share assuming dilution. Capital and exploration expenditures were $7.7 billion, including key investments in the Permian Basin.

Oil-equivalent production rose 3 percent from the third quarter of 2018, to 3.9 million barrels per day. Excluding entitlement effects and divestments, liquids production increased 4 percent driven by Permian Basin growth, while natural gas volumes increased 1 percent.

“We are making excellent progress on our long-term growth strategy,” said Darren W. Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. “Growth in the Permian continues to drive increased liquids production and we are ahead of schedule for first oil in Guyana. The value of our position in Guyana improved further this quarter with an additional discovery, our fourth this year. We are also making good progress on our advantaged investments in the Downstream and Chemical. This quarter, we started production at our new high-performance polyethylene line in Beaumont. The competitiveness of our portfolio was further enhanced with the divestment of non-strategic assets, reaching almost a third of our 2021 objective of $15 billion.”

Third Quarter 2019 Business Highlights

Upstream

• Average crude and natural gas realizations declined from second quarter, in line with industry markers.
• Liquids volumes were in line with second quarter, with U.S. unconventional growth offsetting base decline. Natural gas volumes were down 1 percent.
• Permian unconventional development continued with production up 7 percent from the second quarter and more than 70 percent from the third quarter of last year.

Downstream

• Industry fuels margins improved from the second quarter on stronger distillate margins in Europe and Asia Pacific.
• Following completion of significant refinery turnaround activity during the second quarter, scheduled maintenance activity was lower in the third quarter.

Chemical

• Margins remained weak during the quarter with supply length from recent industry capacity additions.
• Scheduled maintenance activity was lower than second quarter, however results were impacted by a reliability event at the Baytown, Texas olefins plant.

Strengthening the Portfolio

• ExxonMobil announced another oil discovery on the Stabroek block offshore Guyana at the Tripletail-1 well, adding to the previously announced resource estimate of more than 6 billion oil-equivalent barrels. The Liza Destiny floating production, storage and offloading vessel arrived offshore Guyana, targeting first oil at the Liza Phase 1 development by December 2019. ExxonMobil estimates gross production from the Stabroek block will exceed 750,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day by 2025.
• ExxonMobil signed an agreement with Vår Energi AS for the sale of its non-operated upstream assets in Norway for $4.5 billion as part of its previously announced plans to divest approximately $15 billion in non-strategic assets by 2021. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to standard conditions precedent, including customary approvals from regulatory authorities. The agreed sales price of $4.5 billion is subject to interim period adjustments from the effective date of January 1, 2019, to the closing date. Estimated total cash flow from the divestment is around $3.5 billion after closing adjustments, with expected 2019 cash proceeds of around $2.6 billion and estimated cash flow in future periods associated with deferred consideration of $0.3 billion and a refund of income tax payments of $0.6 billion. The corporation expects to recognize a gain of approximately $3.5 billion at closing.

Investing for Growth

• The company started production on its new high-performance polyethylene line in Beaumont, Texas. The expansion increased plant production capacity by 65 percent or 650,000 metric tons per year, and builds upon supply advantages created by the two new performance polyethylene lines which began production in 2017 at the company’s manufacturing site in Mont Belvieu, Texas.
• Affiliates of MPLX LP, Delek US and Rattler Midstream LP joined ExxonMobil, Plains All American Pipeline LP and Lotus Midstream LLC as partners in the joint venture to develop the Wink to Webster crude oil pipeline in Texas. The new pipeline system is expected to commence operations in early 2021, providing more than one million barrels per day of Permian takeaway capacity.

Advancing Innovative Technologies and Products

• The company made additional progress in advancing the development of new technologies to address the risks of climate change. ExxonMobil and Mosaic Materials, Inc. announced an agreement to explore the advancement of potential breakthrough technology to remove carbon dioxide from emissions sources. Mosaic Materials has progressed research on a unique process that uses porous solids, known as metal-organic frameworks, to separate carbon dioxide from air or flue gas. The agreement with ExxonMobil will enable further discussion between the two companies to evaluate opportunities for industrial uses of the technology at scale.
• ExxonMobil announced the global launch of its Mobil EV^TM lubricants offering, which features a full suite of fluids and greases designed to meet the evolving drivetrain requirements of electric vehicles. The new products, which highlight close collaboration between ExxonMobil and original equipment manufacturers, contain molecules carefully selected and blended to help electric vehicles travel further between charges, extend component life, and operate more safely.

First Nine Months 2019 Financial Updates

During the first nine months of 2019, Exxon Mobil Corporation purchased 5 million shares of its common stock for the treasury at a gross cost of $414 million. These shares were acquired to offset dilution in conjunction with the company’s benefit plans and programs. The corporation will continue to acquire shares to offset dilution in conjunction with its benefit plans and programs.

ExxonMobil will discuss financial and operating results and other matters during a webcast at 8:30 a.m. Central Time on November 1, 2019. To listen to the event or access an archived replay, please visit www.exxonmobil.com.

Cautionary Statement

Outlooks, projections, goals, targets, descriptions of strategic plans and objectives, and other statements of future events or conditions in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including business and project plans, capacities, costs, and timing; resource recoveries and production rates; and the impact of new technologies, including to increase capital efficiency and production and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, could differ materially due to a number of factors. These include global or regional changes in supply and demand for oil, gas, and petrochemicals and other market conditions that impact prices and differentials; reservoir performance; the outcome of exploration projects and timely completion of development and construction projects; the impact of fiscal and commercial terms and the outcome of commercial negotiations or acquisitions; changes in law, taxes, or regulation including environmental regulations, and timely granting of governmental permits; war, trade relations, shipping blockades or harassment, and other political or security disturbances; opportunities for and regulatory approval of potential investments or divestments; the actions of competitors; the capture of efficiencies between business lines; unforeseen technical or operating difficulties; unexpected technological developments; the ability to bring new technologies to commercial scale on a cost-competitive basis, including large-scale hydraulic fracturing projects; general economic conditions including the occurrence and duration of economic recessions; the results of research programs; and other factors discussed under the heading Factors Affecting Future Results on the Investors page of our website at www.exxonmobil.com and in Item 1A of ExxonMobil’s 2018 Form 10-K. We assume no duty to update these statements as of any future date.

Frequently Used Terms and Non-GAAP Measures

This press release includes cash flow from operations and asset sales. Because of the regular nature of our asset management and divestment program, we believe it is useful for investors to consider proceeds associated with the sales of subsidiaries, property, plant and equipment, and sales and returns of investments together with cash provided by operating activities when evaluating cash available for investment in the business and financing activities. A reconciliation to net cash provided by operating activities is shown for 2019 periods on page 7 and for 2019 and 2018 periods in Attachment V.

This press release also includes cash flow from operations and asset sales excluding working capital. We believe it is useful for investors to consider these numbers in comparing the underlying performance of our business across periods when there are significant period-to-period differences in the amount of changes in working capital. A reconciliation to net cash provided by operating activities is shown for 2019 periods on page 7 and for 2019 and 2018 periods in Attachment V.

This press release also includes earnings excluding identified items, which are earnings excluding significant non-operational events with an absolute corporate total earnings impact of at least $250 million. The earnings impact of an identified item for an individual segment may be less than $250 million when the item impacts several segments. We believe it is useful for investors to consider these figures in comparing the underlying performance of our business across periods when one, or both, periods include identified items. A reconciliation to earnings is shown for 2019 and 2018 periods in Attachment II.

This press release also includes total taxes including sales-based taxes. This is a broader indicator of the total tax burden on the corporation’s products and earnings, including certain sales and value-added taxes imposed on and concurrent with revenue-producing transactions with customers and collected on behalf of governmental authorities (“sales-based taxes”). It combines “Income taxes” and “Total other taxes and duties” with sales-based taxes, which are reported net in the income statement. We believe it is useful for the corporation and its investors to understand the total tax burden imposed on the corporation’s products and earnings. A reconciliation to total taxes is shown as part of the Estimated Key Financial and Operating Data in Attachment I.

References to the resource base and other quantities of oil, natural gas or condensate may include estimated amounts that are not yet classified as “proved reserves” under SEC definitions, but which are expected to be ultimately recoverable. The term “project” as used in this release can refer to a variety of different activities and does not necessarily have the same meaning as in any government payment transparency reports. Further information on ExxonMobil’s frequently used financial and operating measures and other terms including “Cash flow from operations and asset sales”, and “Total taxes including sales‑based taxes” is contained under the heading “Frequently Used Terms” available through the “Investors” section of our website at www.exxonmobil.com.

Reference to Earnings

References to corporate earnings mean net income attributable to ExxonMobil (U.S. GAAP) from the consolidated income statement. Unless otherwise indicated, references to earnings, Upstream, Downstream, Chemical and Corporate and financing segment earnings, and earnings per share are ExxonMobil’s share after excluding amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests.

Mobil EV is a registered trademark of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Exxon Mobil Corporation has numerous affiliates, many with names that include ExxonMobil, Exxon, Mobil, Esso, and XTO. For convenience and simplicity, those terms and terms such as corporation, company, our, we, and its are sometimes used as abbreviated references to specific affiliates or affiliate groups. Similarly, ExxonMobil has business relationships with thousands of customers, suppliers, governments, and others. For convenience and simplicity, words such as venture, joint venture, partnership, co-venturer, and partner are used to indicate business and other relationships involving common activities and interests, and those words may not indicate precise legal relationships.