News

July 30, 2010

BP Q2 Results Hit By Oil Spill Costs While Shell Exceeds Cost Cutting Targets And ExxonMobil Powers Ahead With Surging Profits

The Q2 results from the world’s supermajors were dominated by the high profile problems at BP, which offset a record quarterly loss of US$17 billion against the departure of CEO Tony Hayward, who earned himself the title of “most hated man in America” for his handling of the Deepwater Horizon crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. Away from the headlines, however, the real news comes from Texas, where ExxonMobil put out an impressive set of Q2 numbers that should put rivals BP and Shell on their guard.

The US supermajor almost doubled its quarterly net profits to US$7.6bn, matching the profits it was making back in the summer of 2008 when the oil price reach a record of US$147 a barrel. Yet prices in Q2 2010 were closer to US$70 a barrel, revealing how an increase in output plus strong refining margins have helped power Exxon into poll position among the supermajors.  Going forward, Exxon’s performance will be further boosted by its US$41 billion acquisition of shale specialist XTO,...