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ExxonMobil and Chevron, the largest American energy companies, said on Friday that their earnings in the first quarter fell from a year earlier, pulled down by lower margins on oil refining and plunging natural gas prices.<\/p>\n
But the oil and gas business remains highly profitable for the two giants even at a time of moderate oil prices. <\/p>\n
The price for Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, has been rising in recent weeks and is currently just under $90 a barrel. If this upward trend continues, company earnings could rise. Brent crude is still selling for well below its 2022 peak, when it jumped above $100 a barrel after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
ExxonMobil said that earnings were $8.2 billion in the quarter, compared with $11.4 billion in the same period a year earlier. Chevron reported a decline to $5.5 billion, from $6.6 billion a year ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Both companies attributed their declines to lower profitability from refining crude oil into products like gasoline and diesel. Their earnings were also hurt by falling prices for natural gas, a key fuel that is used in heating and industry. Natural gas prices, which soared after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, have fallen sharply as markets adjusted.<\/p>\n
Chevron\u2019s adjusted earnings of $2.93 per share were slightly above expectations, while ExxonMobil\u2019s $2.06 per share were below, said Biraj Borkhataria, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, an investment bank.<\/p>\n
The two companies are locked in a rivalry over the oil riches of Guyana. ExxonMobil led the development of the Latin American country into the most important new oil producer in recent years.<\/p>\n
But Chevron is trying to move into Guyana through a $53 billion proposed acquisition of Hess<\/a>, a midsize company based in New York with a large stake in Guyanese oil fields.<\/p>\n