(New York) The American oil giant ExxonMobil presented an investment plan on Wednesday that should allow it to double its profits by 2027 compared to 2019 while slightly increasing its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
The company has confirmed that it wants to spend between $ 20 billion and $ 25 billion annually on new projects by 2027.
That’s less than the $ 30-35 billion the company had planned to spend each year just before the pandemic hit the global economy and, in turn, demand for energy.
The group stresses that its plans could vary depending on market conditions or developments in policies or technologies related to less polluting energies than oil and gas.
ExxonMobil which, under pressure from shareholders, welcomed three members to its board of directors this year more sensitive to environmental issues, has also confirmed that it wants to spend $ 15 billion over the next six years to reduce emissions from its existing activities and for less polluting projects.
This is more than the 3 billion by 2025 forecast at the start of the year. But that only represents 10% to 12.5% of its annual investments.
“The improvements we are making in our activities […] should allow us to double our earnings and cash flow capacity by 2027 compared to 2019, ”said CEO Darren Woods in a document outlining the new goals.
The latter are unveiled as the White House is currently increasing attacks against the majors in the sector, accusing them of taking advantage of the relatively high prices of crude currently.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Tuesday again deemed “extremely annoying” the gap between gasoline, which remains expensive in the United States, as the price of a barrel recently fell in a few days from around 80 to 70 dollars.
ExxonMobil, which generated $ 6.8 billion in net profits in the third quarter, ensures for its part to focus on high value-added investments and says that more than 90% of its new projects will generate a margin of 10% even if a barrel trades at $ 35.
The company also said it would soon achieve a 15% to 20% reduction in the “intensity of greenhouse gas emissions” from its hydrocarbon operations compared to 2016. This does not does not necessarily mean that emissions fall, but that the ratio between its emissions and the energy produced falls.
ExxonMobil plans to reduce emissions from all of its operations by around 20% by 2030 compared to 2016.