|  By Anayo Ezugwu  |  Aug 14, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT  |

ExxonMobil Corporation has announced estimated second quarter 2017 earnings of $3.4 billion. The company’s earnings is an improvement compared with $1.7 billion a year earlier, as oil and gas realisations increased and refining margins improved.

Darren W. Woods, chairman and chief executive officer, ExxonMobil Corporation, said, “These solid results across our businesses were driven by higher commodity prices and a continued focus on operations and business fundamentals. Our job is to grow long-term value by investing in our integrated portfolio of opportunities that succeed regardless of market conditions.”

During the second quarter, upstream earnings rose substantially to $1.2 billion as realisations increased. Downstream results grew 68 percent to $1.4 billion on improved refining margins and higher refinery volumes. Chemical earnings were $985 million; $232 million lower than a year ago, primarily due to higher turnaround activities, lower volumes, and decreased margins.

Upstream volumes declined one percent to 3.9 million oil-equivalent barrels per day compared with a year ago largely due to lower entitlements, while increases from projects and work programmes more than offset the impacts of field decline. During the quarter, the corporation distributed $3.3 billion in dividends to shareholders. Dividends per share of $0.77 increased 2.7 percent compared to the second quarter of 2016.

The second quarter 2017 highlights indicates that cash flow from operations and asset sales was $7.1 billion, including proceeds associated with asset sales of $154 million, and capital and exploration expenditures were $3.9 billion, down 24 percent from the second quarter of 2016. The company made a final investment decision to proceed with the first phase of the Liza field development located offshore Guyana. Production is expected to begin by 2020, less than five years after discovery of the field, from a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel designed to produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day.

The Liza-4 well encountered more than 197 feet (60 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs, which will underpin a potential Liza Phase 2 developments. In July, the company also announced positive results from the Payara-2 well, which encountered 59 feet (18 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoirs. Gross recoverable resources for the Stabroek block are now estimated at 2.25 billion to 2.75 billion oil-equivalent barrels, which include Liza and discoveries at Payara and Snoek.

In the quarter under review, ExxonMobil announced positive results for the Muruk-1 sidetrack 3 well in Papua New Guinea, located about 13 miles (21 kilometers) northwest of Hides gas field. The Muruk-1 sidetrack well was safely drilled to 13,550 feet (4,130 meters) and encountered high-quality sandstone reservoirs southwest of the Muruk-1 natural gas discovery. During a subsequent production test the well successfully flowed gas and condensate at an equipment constrained rate of 16 million standard cubic feet per day.

The company spud its first well on the recently acquired Delaware Basin acreage, drilling a 12,500 foot (3,810 meters) lateral section. ExxonMobil continues to expand midstream capabilities in the basin through strategic partnerships such as the recently signed agreement with Summit Midstream Partners, LP.

It safely towed the Hebron platform from the Bull Arm construction site in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to the Hebron field in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, located about 220 miles (350 kilometers) offshore. The Hebron field is anticipated to produce 150,000 barrels of oil per day from a recoverable resource of 700 million barrels. Commissioning work is underway, with first oil anticipated before the end of 2017.

The company reached an agreement with Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd to acquire one of the world’s largest aromatics plants located on Jurong Island in Singapore. The plant, with annual production capacity of 1.4 million metric tons, will strengthen both operational and logistical synergies for ExxonMobil’s integrated refining and petrochemical complex nearby.

ExxonMobil and SABIC announced the selection of a site in San Patricio County, Texas, for potential development of a jointly owned petrochemical complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The proposed multi-billion dollar investment would include a world-scale ethane steam cracker capable of producing 1.8 million metric tons of ethylene per year, which would feed a monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units.

It also announced the mechanical completion of two new 650,000 metric tons per year high performance polyethylene lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The company expects production to begin during the third quarter of 2017. This project enables ExxonMobil to economically supply a rapidly growing demand for high-value polyethylene products.

The oil giant announced the completion of an expansion in Singapore to increase production of grease and synthetic lubricants, including Mobil 1, the company’s flagship synthetic engine oil. This expansion further strengthens the company’s manufacturing capabilities and its ability to meet the growing demand for grease and synthetic lubricants products in the Asia Pacific region.

ExxonMobil announced plans to enter the Mexican fuels market in 2017 with Mobil-branded stations and its new signature line of advanced Synergy gasoline and diesel fuels. The company plans to invest about $300 million in fuels logistics, product inventories and marketing over the next 10 years.

ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. announced a breakthrough in research into advanced biofuels involving the modification of an algae strain that more than doubled its oil content without significantly inhibiting the strain’s growth. Additional research and extensive testing are required before commercial application.