ExxonMobil Outlines Progress on Long-Term Growth Strategy

05.03.2020  |  Business Wire

• Advantaged projects, industry-leading growth opportunities and favorable cost environment support earnings and cash flow growth potential
• Population growth, global prosperity driving demand for oil, natural gas and chemicals
• Company works to meet increased demand for reliable and affordable energy while reducing emissions and the risks associated with climate change

ExxonMobil continues to make progress on the company’s long-term growth plans by investing through the commodity price cycle to capture high-value opportunities and grow earnings and cash flow potential.

“We are effectively executing our growth strategy that will lead to sustained improvement in shareholder value,” Darren W. Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer, said at the company’s annual investor day at the New York Stock Exchange.

“Using the strength of our balance sheet to invest through the cycle is a key element of our strategy. We are taking advantage of a favorable cost environment and investing in advantaged projects – underpinned by the long-term fundamentals of growing demand. The strength of our portfolio and our financial capacity enable us to continuously evaluate our priorities and the pace of investments while preserving value, which is critical in current market conditions and near decade-low commodity prices and margins.”

Woods told investors that ExxonMobil is planning capital expenditures of between $30 billion to $35 billion annually through 2025, consistent with previous guidance. For 2020, the company anticipates an investment level of up to $33 billion, depending on the progress of individual projects.

Woods also outlined progress on key projects that support ExxonMobil’s growth plans, including:

• In Guyana, the estimated gross recoverable resource from the Stabroek Block increased to more than 8 billion oil-equivalent barrels, in part as a result of six additional discoveries made in 2019 and 2020. ExxonMobil and its partners started production of oil at the Liza field in December 2019, less than five years after the first discovery of hydrocarbons and years ahead of industry average. Production in Guyana is expected to reach more than 750,000 gross barrels of oil per day by 2025.
• In the Permian Basin, production volumes increased and remain on track to exceed 1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day by 2024. A capital-efficient development approach is being applied at scale, differentiating ExxonMobil from its competition. The process, known as cube development, accesses multiple shale layers simultaneously, saving money, maximizing value of resources and reducing surface footprint. The company emphasized it is evaluating the pace of near-term development activities in response to market conditions, and can do so while preserving value. Permian well cost and performance continues to improve and future growth will be supported by integrated infrastructure capacity expansions at the company’s Gulf Coast refineries and petrochemical operations.
• ExxonMobil holds the leading acreage position in Brazil among international oil companies and added more than 450,000 acres in 2019, for a total of 2.5 million net acres. The company has plans to increase exploration activity in 2020 and 2021, and Phase 1 of the Bacalhau field development is progressing on schedule.
• ExxonMobil reported strong performance from its low-cost liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in Papua New Guinea, and the company continues to work with the governments in Papua New Guinea and Mozambique to advance new projects to support long-term demand growth.
• In the downstream, ExxonMobil remains focused on maximizing value from its base assets through increased integration, utilization and efficiency. Project improvements continue to add value, and recent investments in Beaumont, Rotterdam and Antwerp generated earnings of $300 million in 2019.
• In the chemical business, long-term global fundamentals continue to support the company’s expansion projects throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Asia. Eight projects have been completed, four reached a final investment decision in 2019, and one additional project is being progressed. These investments are expected to deliver a 30 percent increase in sales growth relative to 2017.
• The company is actively upgrading its portfolio through strategic divestments, and continues to progress its $15 billion divestment program.

Woods said ExxonMobil’s long-term growth plans are rooted in the company’s efforts to meet the world’s increasing demand for reliable and affordable energy, while reducing emissions and risks associated with climate change.

Population growth and an expanding middle class will increase energy demand, which will require massive investments in oil and natural gas even in the more stringent low carbon scenarios, he said. Investments in new technologies to reduce emissions will also be needed.

ExxonMobil is a technology leader and is collaborating with world-leading research institutions to advance lower-emission solutions including biofuels, carbon capture and energy-efficient manufacturing. The company is targeting the critical sectors of commercial transportation, power generation and high-energy industrial processes, because they produce 80 percent of energy-related emissions and current technologies are insufficient to achieve deep reductions.

“ExxonMobil is committed to being part of the solution,” said Woods. “We’re investing in new energy supplies to improve global living standards, working on technologies that are needed to reduce emissions and supporting sensible policies, such as those putting a price on carbon or regulations to reduce emissions of methane.”

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international energy companies, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. To learn more, visit exxonmobil.com and the Energy Factor.

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Cautionary Statement:

Outlooks, projections, goals, estimates, discussions of potential, descriptions of business plans, drilling plans and strategies, growth and capital plans, resource potential, market expectations, energy market evolution, time for technology adoption, and other statements of future events or conditions in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including future earnings, cash flows, returns, margins, asset sales and related proceeds, and other areas of financial and operating performance; demand growth and energy mix; ExxonMobil’s production growth, volumes, development and mix; the amount and mix of capital expenditures; future distributions; proved reserves and other resource volumes; reserve and resource additions and recoveries; asset carrying values and future impairments; business and project plans, completion dates, timing, costs, and capacities; efficiency gains; operating costs and cost savings; integration benefits; product sales and mix; production rates and capacities; and the impact of technology, including to increase capital efficiency and production and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, could differ materially due to a number of factors. These include global and regional changes in the demand, supply, prices, differentials or other market conditions affecting oil, gas, petroleum, petrochemicals and feedstocks; financing sources; population growth and global economic growth; reservoir performance and depletion rates; the outcome of exploration projects and the timely completion of development and construction projects; regional differences in product concentration and demand; war, trade agreements, shipping blockades or harassment and other political, public health or security concerns; changes in law, taxes or regulation, including environmental regulations, taxes, and political sanctions and international treaties; the timely granting of government permits; the resolution of contingencies and uncertain tax positions; the impact of fiscal and commercial terms and the outcome of commercial negotiations; opportunities for regulatory approval of potential investments or divestments; the actions of competitors and customers; the capture of efficiencies between business lines; unexpected technological developments; general economic conditions, including the occurrence and duration of economic recessions; unforeseen technical or operating difficulties; the ability to bring new technologies to commercial scale on a cost-competitive basis, including large-scale hydraulic fracturing projects; and other factors discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and under the heading "Factors Affecting Future Results" in the Investors section of our website at www.exxonmobil.com.

Forward-looking statements contained in this presentation regarding the potential for future earnings, cash flow, volumes growth, long-term growth, and capital employed are not forecasts of actual future results. These figures are provided to help quantify the potential future results and goals of currently-contemplated management plans and objectives. We have assumed that other factors such as laws and regulations, including tax and environmental laws, and fiscal regimes remain consistent with current conditions for the relevant periods.

References in this release to oil-equivalent barrels, gross barrels or similar terms include quantities of oil and gas that are not yet classified as proved reserves under SEC definitions but that are expected to be ultimately recoverable.

The term “project” as used in this release can refer to a variety of different activities and does not necessarily have the same meaning as in any government payment transparency reports.

This release summarizes highlights from ExxonMobil’s 2020 Analysts’ Meeting held on March 5, 2020. For more information concerning the forward-looking statements and other information contained in this release, please refer to the complete Analysts’ Meeting presentation (including important information contained in the Cautionary Statement and Supplemental Information sections of the presentation) which is available live and in archive form through ExxonMobil’s website at www.exxonmobil.com.

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