MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil posted chemical earnings of USD661 million, up from USD240 million in the same year-ago quarter, reported Chemweek.
The gain reflected stronger margins and volumes as well as aggressive cost reduction, ExxonMobil said. Chemical sales volumes were higher than the second quarter, benefiting from resilient packaging demand and recovering automotive and construction markets. Chemical prime product sales of 6.62 million metric tons in the quarter were up 2.2% YOY.
ExxonMobil said that its Corpus Christi, Texas chemical complex joint venture with Sabic is approximately 80% complete and “under budget and ahead of schedule.” Startup activities are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2021.
ExxonMobil overall posted a $680 million loss in the quarter on heavy losses in upstream and downstream compared with net income of USD3.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. Results improved USD400 million from the second quarter "driven by early stages of demand recovery." ExxonMobil said it was on track to exceed reduction targets for 2020 capital and cash expenses with further reductions anticipated in 2021. The company said it would reduce its 2020 capital spending program from USD33 billion to USD23 billion with a further reduction in 2021 capital spending to USD16 billion-USD19 billion.
As MRC informed earlier, Exxon Mobil Corp has also recently announced it will lay off about 1,900 employees in the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic batters energy demand and prices.
We remind that ExxonMobil has undertaken a planned shutdown at its cracker in Singapore. The company halted operations at the cracker for maintenance on September 14, 2020. The cracker is expected to remain off-line till end-October, 2020. Located at Jurong Island, Singapore, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 1 million mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,496,500 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of all ethylene polymers increased, except for linear low desnity polyethylene (LLDPE). At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world"s energy.
MRC