Exxon Warns Low Oil Prices, Refining Margins Will Impact 3Q Earnings — OPIS

Low oil prices and weak refining margins are likely to have a significant impact on ExxonMobil's third quarter earnings, the company warned Thursday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the report, Exxon said that lower oil prices during the quarter could reduce earnings by $600 million to $1 billion. The company said it expects lower refining margins to have a similar impact on earnings.

Exxon said earnings for the quarter would total $9.2 billion, including $7.1 billion in upstream earnings.

The company's warning was not unexpected. The price of U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude averaged $75.27/bbl during the third quarter, 8.4% lower than the $82.21 average seen during the same time in 2023.

Gasoline and diesel refining margins were also under pressure during the quarter, amid lackluster summer fuel demand.

OPIS DemandPro data show that average same-store gasoline sales volumes during the quarter were 5% lower than during the same period in 2023. While ExxonMobil's filing is the first from an oil major indicating the impact of those conditions on earnings, it is likely other companies will cite similar circumstances in upcoming filings.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

--Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 04, 2024 11:24 ET (15:24 GMT)

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