
US-based oil major ExxonMobil has announced that its liquids production hit the highest level in 40 years.
The company made the announcement together with its third-quarter results, which came in higher than analysts’ expectations.
With liquids production now at 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd), this helped offset the effect of lower oil prices and lower refining margins due to global refinery capacity exceeding demand. ExxonMobil also managed to increase its sale of high-value products, such as the premium Mobil DTE 10 Excel hydraulic oil, by a tenth.
ExxonMobil’s production growth is due in large part to it gradually bringing developments online in Guyana, where it has made a string of offshore discoveries. Its acquisition of Pioneer has also given it access to a portfolio of assets in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.
The chief executive officer and chairman of ExxonMobil, Darren Woods, said the company had one of the best third quarters for around 10 years, adding:
“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.”
He also said the company was one of just 4% of those listed in the S&P 500 that could claim to have increased its yearly dividend for 42 consecutive years. The quarterly dividend was also increased by 4%.