The two largest American oil companies reported their lowest profit in the win on Friday in the first quarter, because they are bracing themselves for the economic fall-out of the trade war of President Trump, who has weakened consumer confidence and has fallen oil prices.
The rough prices of the US fell below $ 60 per barrel this week, a threshold under which many companies cannot earn money by drilling new wells. Crude oil is now about $ 20 per barrel cheaper than it was just before Mr. Trump took office. Not only is oil picking up, companies pay more for steel and other materials due to rates that the president has imposed.
There are signs that some companies are already coming back.
From last week the number of Rigs drill pits in the Perm, the largest American oil field, according to Baker Hughes, an oil field provider, had fallen by 3 percent in a month. The customers of that company have deported discretionary expenses and the spending throughout the industry will probably fall this year, Baker Hughes managers said last week.
Chevron, the second largest American oil company, said months ago that it would spend less in 2025, and since then it has not changed its annual production or capital expenses forecasts.
“We are familiar with where we are now,” said Eimear Bonner, the financial director of the company, in an interview. “We have previously navigated Cycli. We know what to do.”
The financial results that Chevron and Exxon Mobil, the largest American oil and gas company, reported that the market reflected on Friday before Mr Trump announced his last rates round. Around the same time, members of the producer cartel known as OPEC Plus The market surprised By saying that his members would speed up plans to pump more oil.
The profit of the first quarter of Chevron fell more than a third to $ 3.5 billion, with analyst expectations missing, because the company earned less for every barrel of oil it produced. Lower margins when refining also damage the income.
Exxon’s profit of $ 7.7 billion in the first three months of the year was also shy for analyst forecasts collected by FactSet. The income fell around 6 percent compared to a year earlier.
“In this uncertain market our shareholders can be sure that we know that we were built for this,” said Darren Woods, Chief Executive of Exxon, in a statement.
The demand for many companies is how long the oil prices remain around $ 60 per barrel or less. If they slide to $ 50, Domestic production could fall About 8 percent in a year, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. The United States is the world’s largest oil producer.
Companies save the costs they can, while waiting for more clarity for American trade policy, said Joseph Esteves, Chief Executive of Maine Pointe, a consultancy that specializes in operations and supply chain problems.
“It is about not a rock undisturbed, no bank cushion unexplored,” said Mr. Esteves.
Mrs Bonner said that Chevron had a “limited direct impact” of rates. The company has worked to limit the effects by buying supplies such as steel locally, she said.
Chevron is confronted with a deadline of Late May Wind activity in Venezuela After Mr. Trump took steps to reverse a policy from the Biden era so that more oil could be produced in the country. The new rules already have an effect. The company is unable to load oil on ships to be exported due to changes in the license, said Mrs. Bonner.
“We just keep handling the administration on the subject,” she said.
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