Exxon Mobil Corporation today announced an estimated third-quarter loss of US$680 million or US$0.15 per share. The oil giant told its shareholders during its 2020 earnings call that its third-quarter capital and exploration expenditures were US$4.1 billion, bringing year-to-date spending to US$16.6 billion, more than US$6 billion lower than the prior-year period.
Following this disclosure, Chief Executive Officer and President, Darren Woods was keen to note that ExxonMobil remains confident in its long-term strategy and the fundamentals of its business while giving all assurances that it is taking the necessary actions to preserve value, protect its balance sheet and maintain dividends.
Further to this, Woods added, “We are on pace to achieve our 2020 cost-reduction targets and are progressing additional savings next year as we manage through this unprecedented down cycle.”
With respect to the company’s preliminary 2021 capital programme, which will be reviewed by the board of directors in the fourth quarter, Woods said this is expected to be in the range of US$16 billion to US$19 billion, a reduction from the 2020 target of US$23 billion announced in April. Guyana Standard understands that the company expects to identify further structural efficiencies as it continues previously announced country-by-country reviews.
