Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the largest U.S. oil companies have made profits last year totaling over $70 billion due to lower oil prices on the U.S. market, which strengthened the financial performance of fuel refineries, according to Bloomberg.
Exxon Mobil’s net profit increased by 9.3 percent last year to $44.88 billion, slightly below the record that the company registered in 2008, when it managed to have a net income of $45.22 billion. Chevron reported a net income for 2012 of $26.2 billion, down 2.7 percent from record earnings of $26.9 billion in 2011.
The main factor leading to huge profits is the lower price of crude oil in the U.S. market, which reduced costs of refineries. The big profits were made despite the fact that last year some analysts advised the two companies to restrict fuel production.
Reports presented this weekend by Exxon and Chevron reveal that profits from oil processing have surpassed the effect of lower earnings from oil and gas production. In the last three months of the year, Exxon made a profit of almost $10 billion, the maximum of the last 5 years, and Chevron has set a new record in company history, with a profit of $7.25 billion.
Exxon and Chevron have endured in recent years the trend of American oil industry to sell refineries and focus on oil and gas production, unlike rivals such as ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) closed at $90.04 on Friday, with a market capitalization of $403.36 billion, while Chevron (NYSE:CVX) closed the trading session on Friday at $116.50, with a market capitalization of $228.01 billion.
These figures reflect the growing profits of oil giants that focused on refineries with high margins for the production of gasoline and diesel.
Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO), a San Antonio based company focused on oil refining, posted last week its net income for the fourth quarter, a twenty-fold increase. As a result, its shares rose 13 percent on the day the financial results for Q4 were announced.
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