Oil major BP announced disappointing results for Q1 as downstream operations found trading tough, while ExxonMobil's poor results show the opposite picture.
Overall, BP saw net profits reduced by 18% year-on-year at $5.9bn against $7.3bn and against $7.6bn in the final quarter of 2011. The figures also included a 12% fall in replacement cost profit from $5.6bn to $4.9bn this year. The figures also included a net cash outflow of $1.2bn relating to the Gulf of Mexico spill, although this was more than half the amount of the same period last year.
The biggest hit came from BP's downstream operations, which includes fuel, lubes and chemical sales. Underlying replacement cost profit fell a massive 58%, bringing in $924m against $2.2bn in Q1 of 2011. Fuel profits alone took a 63% fall with the company blaming weakened performance from the supply and trading division as well as the refining output lost as a result of the fire at the company's Cherry Point refinery in February.
Meanwhile oil production came in at 2.45 million boe/d and BP CEO Bob Dudley stated that the company was focusing on priorities including its continued divestment of non-core assets - which has now reached $23bn - as well as continued deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico and US shale exploration activities. The company expects to have eight rigs working in the Gulf by the end of the year.
BP's joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP brought in a further net 1.02m boe/d from which BP received a cash dividend of $690m.
For ExxonMobil the picture was almost the opposite. Like BP, overall net income fell, with an 11% drop at $9.45bn from $10.65bn for the same Quarter in 2011. In Exxon's case, however, it was refining and chemicals which took the major hit, with upstream earnings off $604m against last year at a fraction more than $6.8bn, with US upstream earnings alone $269m lower. Chemicals contributed $701m, a massive $816m lower year-on-year.
Overall, revenues rose 8.8% to $124bn and downstream earnings saved the company's blushes to some extent with a $487m improvement $1.5bn helped by non-US income improvingby $578m to a little under $1bn.