By Alex Dhaliwal.Top U.S. oil producer ExxonMobil has posted its first annual loss in 40 years, owing mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, activist investors, and climate-change campaigns..With energy prices decimated, shale gas properties reduced by more than $20 billion in value during the fourth quarter, a far cry from fourth-quarter 2019 when they last posted a profit, totalling $5.69 billion..The company reported a net annual loss of $22.44 billion for 2020, compared to a full-year profit of $14.34 billion in 2019, with four consecutive quarters of losses in 2020..In response to the devastating quarter, ExxonMobil laid off 15 per cent of its workforce and distributed $326 million in after-tax severance charges..According to the Company’s fourth-quarter report, capital and exploration expenditures were $4.8 billion, bringing full-year spending to $21.4 billion, $9.8 billion lower than the prior year..Though oil prices are likely to remain below $60 a barrel for years, despite a mounting $22-billion debt incurred last year to cover dividend and project spending, ExxonMobil assured investors of its financial health in a world of $50-a-barrel oil. .Should prices fall below $45 per barrel, the company committed to “further reduce capital investments, cover the dividend and maintain a strong balance sheet.”.Despite the devastating year for ExxonMobil, “full-year 2020 capital spending of $21.4 billion was nearly $12 billion, or 35 per cent, lower than the initial $33 billion plan, and $2 billion below the revised $23 billion plan,” said ExxonMobil in its fourth-quarter report..Though cash operating expenses for the year were 15 per cent lower than 2019, capturing savings from increased efficiencies, reduced activity, and lower energy costs, further reductions in operating expenses are expected. .Dhaliwal is an Edmonton-based freelance reporter.
By Alex Dhaliwal.Top U.S. oil producer ExxonMobil has posted its first annual loss in 40 years, owing mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, activist investors, and climate-change campaigns..With energy prices decimated, shale gas properties reduced by more than $20 billion in value during the fourth quarter, a far cry from fourth-quarter 2019 when they last posted a profit, totalling $5.69 billion..The company reported a net annual loss of $22.44 billion for 2020, compared to a full-year profit of $14.34 billion in 2019, with four consecutive quarters of losses in 2020..In response to the devastating quarter, ExxonMobil laid off 15 per cent of its workforce and distributed $326 million in after-tax severance charges..According to the Company’s fourth-quarter report, capital and exploration expenditures were $4.8 billion, bringing full-year spending to $21.4 billion, $9.8 billion lower than the prior year..Though oil prices are likely to remain below $60 a barrel for years, despite a mounting $22-billion debt incurred last year to cover dividend and project spending, ExxonMobil assured investors of its financial health in a world of $50-a-barrel oil. .Should prices fall below $45 per barrel, the company committed to “further reduce capital investments, cover the dividend and maintain a strong balance sheet.”.Despite the devastating year for ExxonMobil, “full-year 2020 capital spending of $21.4 billion was nearly $12 billion, or 35 per cent, lower than the initial $33 billion plan, and $2 billion below the revised $23 billion plan,” said ExxonMobil in its fourth-quarter report..Though cash operating expenses for the year were 15 per cent lower than 2019, capturing savings from increased efficiencies, reduced activity, and lower energy costs, further reductions in operating expenses are expected. .Dhaliwal is an Edmonton-based freelance reporter.
