A Mobil gas station is seen in Medford, Massachusetts, in a photo's file.
Credit: Reuters/Brian SnyderBy Tom bergin and Matt dailyLONDON / NEW YORK | Thu on April 28, 2011, 2: 39 pm EDT
London / new YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp and jumps steep Royal Dutch Shell Plc posted profits in the first quarter and forecasts of analysts pulsation, helped by high oil prices and buoyant refining margins.
Benefits for the world's largest oil producers have grown as oil prices moved above $ 100 dollars per barrel in the first quarter in unrest in the Middle East and Africa and rising global demand of energy.
Exxon, the largest in the world listed company, posted a 69 percent increase in earnings to 10.65 million dollars, the largest gain since the third quarter of 2008, when the last oil prices traded above $100 per barrel.
The company was the only one between their Western peers to record an increase in production in the quarter, so far, cropping up 10 percent from a year earlier to 4.82 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boep)helped by the acquisition of XTO American natural gas company last year.
Shell earnings increased 22% to 6.9 million dollars, although its production of oil and gas to 3 per cent 3.50 million boep pressured sales of assets.
Even so, that decline was more modest than drop fall of 11 per cent that BP Plc reported Wednesday and 7 per cent in the production of ConocoPhillips.
BP has been selling assets to meet more than 40 million dollars in liabilities that sold since the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, while that Conoco had been shedding assets to pare its debt burden.
BUBBLES OF GAS UP
Shell, the world's largest liquefied natural gas shipper, also benefited from the rise in the price of LNG after the Japanese earthquake, which should lead to greater demand for LNG in that country as nuclear energy is reduced.
That force of LNG, as well as a number of projects in sequence of this year, caused hopes that Shell could join Exxon and Chevron to increase their dividend payments to shareholders.
Exxon raised their earnings for the second quarter 7 percent Wednesday, while Chevron, while boosted its dividend by 8%.
Chevron is due to release their quarterly earnings on Friday.
More jackpots of profit margins in the Exxon and Shell refineries which process crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel fuel and fuel also helped their quarterly earnings.
Exxon also benefited from a jump in the profits of his arm of chemical products, which recorded $ 1.5 million in earnings in the quarter. The company is the second largest producer of chemical products for U.S. behind Dow Chemical.
"Looks like that the chemistry was really strong," Phil Weiss, Argus Research oil analyst, said on the profits of Exxon. "And production became upper side with regard to my expectations, especially of gas."
Shares of Shell increased 0.7% to 2325.5 pence on the stock exchange of London, while shares of Exxon were out of 0.5 per cent to $87.35 in the New York Stock Exchange.
Oil and gas companies Apache Corp and Occidental Petroleum Corp reported profits that exceeded the forecasts of Wall Street, raising its share prices.
(Additional reporting by Marie Maitre in Paris, Anna controller in Houston and braden reddall in San Francisco)
(Reports by Matt Daily; editing by gunna Dickson)
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