ExxonMobil posts 57% drop despite over $19b profit
ExxonMobil has posted a 57% drop in profit which is an all-time record for the company in 2009.
The drop in profit is in spite of posting a $19.3 billion profit according to the Washington Post which describes the amount as “an imposing figure in corporate America.”
The report indicated that ExxonMobil’s profit report on Monday coincided with the release of President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal, which would rescind tax breaks for the oil and gas industry worth $36.5 billion over 10 years.
The results reported by ExxonMobil said to be the world’s largest private oil company is a reflection of the current state of the oil industry as a result of the rise in oil prices.
ExxonMobil last year showed interest in Ghana’s nascent oil industry by buying the stake of Kosmos Energy in Ghana’s Jubilee oil field. The field is the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years. It holds 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells according to the majority stakeholders, Tullow Oil.
ExxonMobil offered $4 billion for the stake, but the deal could only be sealed after the Ghana government has approved it. But the government declined and instead showed interest in buying the stake.
The government’s decision was criticized by especially the European and US media.
The government through the state-run oil and gas company, Ghana National Petroleum Company (GNPC) has announced it has been able to raise the funds through some banks to acquire the stake.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
Exxon Mobil has big ambitions for their company, and while the economy is pretty rough right now, they are constantly working to better improve its’ customers standards of living and trying to find the newest and best technology that is cleaner and safer for our environment.