Exxon, Chevron earnings surge on high oil, gas prices

ExxonMobil and Chevron saw sales surge during their respective first quarters of 2022 as oil and gas prices soared amid record high inflation and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

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Exxon reported $5.48 billion, or $1.28 per share, in net income during the first quarter, doublings its profits compared to the same quarter last year. Excluding identified items, net income increased by $6 billion year-over-year to $8.8 billion, or $2.07 per share, after adjusting for a $3.4 billion after-tax charge related to discontinuing the company's Russia Sakhalin-1 operation. 

Exxon's total revenue for the quarter came in at $90.5 billion, far exceeding the $59.15 in revenue during the same period a year ago. 

"Earnings increased modestly, as strong margin improvement and underlying growth was offset by weather and timing impacts," ExxonMobil CEO Darren Smith said in a statement. "The absence of these temporary impacts in March provides strong, positive momentum for the second quarter"  

Exxon’s production fell to 3.7 million barrels per day of oil-equivalent, down 4% from the fourth quarter of 2021 due to weather-related unscheduled downtime, planned maintenance and divestments. Production in the Permian Basin grew to 560,000 barrels per day at the end of the quarter and the company said it is on track to deliver a 25% increase in production there in 2022 compared to last year.

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Meanwhile, Chevron reported earnings of $6.3 billion, or $3.22 per share, more than four times its earnings in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, earnings were $6.5 billion, or $3.36 per share. Total sales and other operating revenues in first quarter 2022 were $54.37 billion, compared to $32 billion in the year-ago period.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said the oil giant is "doing its part to grow domestic supply with U.S. oil and gas production up 10 percent over first quarter last year."

Chevron’s worldwide net oil equivalent production in the first quarter was 3.06 million barrels per day. Permian Basin unconventional production grew to a record 692,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter, as the company raised its 2022 guidance to 700,000 to 750,000 barrels per day, an increase of over 15% from 2021.

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The price of oil climbed steadily during the first quarter after Russia invaded Ukraine, sending European countries which rely heavily on Russia for energy and others scrambling to find alternative sources for fuel. A barrel of the U.S. benchmark crude rose from $76 to nearly $130 per barrel before ending the quarter at $100, and drivers were filling up with increasingly expensive gasoline. 

Natural gas prices rose too, climbing from $3.50 per million British thermal units to about $5.60, inflating home heating bills and electricity prices.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.