ExxonMobil announces $34bn capital investment for 2011

ExxonMobil Corporation has revealed that it has an investment plan of $34 billion in 2011. The Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, Mr. Rex Tillerson, said, “We are executing a large inventory of high-quality projects. Actual spending in a given year will vary depending on the pace and the progress of each project.

“We are anticipating an investment profile of approximately $34 billion in 2011 and a range of $33 billion to $37 billion per year through the year 2015.”

Tillerson, who spoke during the company’s annual presentation to investment analysts at the New York Stock Exchange, said the volume of oil and natural gas produced by ExxonMobil was expected to grow by between three per cent and four per cent in 2011 and by four to five per cent per year, on the average, between 2009 and 2014.

He said, “In addition, normal field decline is expected to be about three per cent per year, which is about half the typical rate, in part due to increasing levels of unconventional and long-plateau volumes.

“During challenging times for the global economy, ExxonMobil continues to invest at record levels to deliver the energy needed to underpin economic recovery and growth.”

Tillerson added, “Our integrated business model enables us to deliver strong results for shareholders by leveraging financial strength, rigorous management systems and operating synergies.”

He said that ExxonMobil expected global energy demand to increase by 35 per cent by 2030, compared to the 2005 levels, and that demand for natural gas would make it the fastest growing major energy source.

According to him, to meet that demand, ExxonMobil would continue to invest through the business cycle. He said 11 major upstream project start-ups were planned between 2011 and 2013 and that in 2011, the company expected to deliver 120,000 net oil-equivalent barrels per day from the 2010 project start-ups.

He added that the company anticipated almost 1.4 million net oil-equivalent barrels per day by 2016.

Tillerson said that nearly 80 per cent of the new production would be oil, much of which would contribute to long-plateau volumes.

He said, “In 2010, ExxonMobil reported earnings of $30.5 billion, an increase of 57 per cent, excluding special items, over 2009, and generated cash flow of $51.7 billion. This provided the company with important flexibility to fund the development of new energy, and return $19.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and a share purchase programme.

“Over the past five years, dividends have increased by 53 per cent and the share purchase programme was at a level more than double that of the company’s competitors.”

Tillerson said that ExxonMobil’s return on average capital employed, a key indicator of  financial performance, was an industry-leading 22 per cent in 2010, more than four percentage points higher than its nearest competitors.

Source : Tribune