#oilandgas

With a heart full of appreciation, l want to say a BIG THANK YOU to our amazing CEO, Vicki Hollub. Thank you for all you did for Oxy’s employees. Thank you for more than doubling Oxy’s production and for your wisdom and foresight in lowering Oxy’s risk in the Middle East and increasing U.S. domestic production. You’ve reshaped Oxy to be a premier oil and gas company. You’ve taken the lead where others are afraid to step into. You are the first woman to Lead a major oil and gas company in the U.S and you didw a terrific job. You’ve also stabilized Oxy (no massive layoffs) which has allowed talents to focus more on their jobs rather than worrying each time the price of oil goes down. Words cannot express how much you did for Oxy as a whole. I wish you long life and the best in your retirement.

This is random but a good read for new folks, not the best forum for this post but since we do not have an alternative one here it goes, hope it helps someone. Folks that have been around the block a while should skip this thread:
https://www.construction-physics.com/p/how-an-oil-refinery-works

An Analyst asked on the Earnings call if Meg thought there was a scenario where this discovery wouldn't proceed to development. He started his question by saying how big AF described it to be.

She did not answer the Analyst's question about whether there's a way it doesn't get developed.

CO2 is clearly a know issue with these fields. To not answer and dodge the question by sayijg a great team is working the project sounds like reason to run.

Should we be worried we've dug ourselves into a hole we can't get out of with this biggest discovery in 25 years?

Just wondering when will Apache shutdown their North Sea assets and what is the projected cost to decommission? Will they pull a Field Wood style bankruptcy to offload the North Sea assets back to BP?

Anyone know if the fire at Shell Norco is going to affect our bonus?

All signs point to good results tomorrow with help from the blockade in the Straight of Hormuz. I’m sure we will say it is proof our strategy reset is working, and that we still have to make more “difficult” changes. Then cue layoffs announced around Q2 results. What does everyone else think?

Inside ExxonMobil, job security varies a lot by function. The pattern isn’t about “good vs. bad jobs”—it’s about how directly a role ties to revenue and how easy it is to cut or outsource.

Here’s how it typically breaks down:

Roles that tend to be more stable
1) Core operations (production & refining)
Field operators (oil & gas production)
Refinery technicians
Maintenance crews for critical infrastructure

Why they’re safer:
These roles keep oil and gas flowing—the company literally can’t operate without them. Even during downturns, ExxonMobil usually trims elsewhere first.

2) High-value technical specialists
Petroleum engineers
Reservoir engineers
Geoscientists (especially in active drilling regions)
Certain chemical engineers tied to refining

Why:
They directly impact how much oil/gas is found and produced → tied to revenue.

The more your work affects output or efficiency, the safer you generally are.

3) Project-critical roles during growth phases
Engineers and managers on major projects (e.g., offshore developments, LNG, carbon capture)

Why:
If Exxon has already committed billions to a project, they don’t stop midway unless conditions are extreme.

4) New strategic areas (selectively stable)
Carbon capture
Hydrogen
Lower-emissions technologies

Why:
These are long-term investments, though still smaller and not immune to cuts.

Roles with moderate risk
5) IT and data roles (mixed stability)
Data engineers, cybersecurity → more stable
General IT support → more vulnerable

Why:
Some are mission-critical; others can be outsourced or consolidated.

6) Mid-level management
Supervisors, team leads

Why:
They’re needed, but during restructuring Exxon often “flattens” layers of management.

Roles that are most at risk during layoffs
7) Corporate / back-office functions
HR
Finance (non-core roles)
Legal support
Communications / PR

Why:
These don’t directly generate revenue and are easier to cut or centralize.

8) Administrative and support roles
Admin assistants
Internal support staff

Why:
Often reduced through automation or outsourcing.

9) Early-career / less specialized roles
Entry-level positions without niche expertise

Why:
They’re easier to replace or eliminate compared to highly specialized staff.

10) Roles tied to declining or non-core assets
Staff in fields or refineries being sold or shut down

Why:
When Exxon exits a region or asset, those jobs often disappear or transfer.

One important nuance

Even “safe” roles aren’t immune.

Example:

During the COVID downturn, even engineers at ExxonMobil were laid off.
But cuts were still heavier in corporate and support functions.

Simple rule of thumb

Ask yourself:

“If this role disappeared tomorrow, would production or revenue drop immediately?”

Yes → safer
No → higher risk

https://chatgpt.com/

what’s maryann talkin bout?? we’re making massive profits off of the war, i’d assume the company would be flush with cash. any layoffs or reorgs coming?

If you’re in the Permian as I am, don’t think it’s over. They’re setting up for the future, it won’t include us.

What should i expect with 10 yrs of experience. Joining from another major. Worth the risk? Whst is the future of reservoir eng here. Honest guidance only please

Story by Sheila Dang

HOUSTON, April 8 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil signaled on Wednesday that first quarter earnings could decline from the previous quarter, with an expected multi-billion dollar hit related to financial hedging outweighing higher oil and gas prices triggered by the Iran war.

The top U.S. oil producer also said it will see higher profitability in later quarters when derivative contracts are settled with physical shipments.

In a regulatory filing, Exxon said earnings in the upstream business could have a lift of about $1.4 billion compared to the fourth quarter, driven by higher oil prices, which skyrocketed as much as 65% following the start of the war on February 28.

Downstream earnings, however, could be negatively impacted by around $5.3 billion due to the so-called timing effects connected to derivative contracts and cargoes that were not delivered due to the war.

"This is clearly a messy release with a number of Exxon-specific factors related to current events in the Middle East impacting earnings," Biraj Borkhataria, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said in a research note.

The earnings snapshot points to first quarter earnings of about $5 billion or $1.20 per share, Borkhataria estimated.

Adjusted earnings in the fourth quarter were $7.3 billion or $1.71 per share.

EARNINGS MISMATCH WILL 'UNWIND OVER TIME'

The "unusually large, negative timing impact" is temporary and results from accounting rules for the trading program, Neil Hansen, Exxon's chief financial officer, said in a statement.

Like other oil firms, Exxon hedges the sale of crude, natural gas and refined products using financial derivatives in order to mitigate the risk of price changes during the time it takes to ship cargoes to customers, which could take weeks between the United States and Asia.

The value of the physical shipment is not reflected in earnings until the transaction is complete, the company said in the filing.

"These impacts will unwind over time and result in net-positive profit once the underlying transactions are complete. These are sound trades and the profitability that will result from them will be material," Hansen said.

The company said it will record an impairment of between $600 million and $800 million because supply disruptions prevented the physical shipment of cargoes associated with some hedges.

IMPACTED PRODUCTION

Exxon said its first-quarter oil and gas production will be 6% lower due to the war compared with the fourth quarter, when it produced 5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Assets in Qatar and the UAE accounted for 20% of Exxon's global oil production in 2025, the company said in the filing.

The war has caused a massive disruption of energy supplies as the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of global energy flows, has been effectively closed. Benchmark Brent crude prices averaged $78.38 per barrel during the first quarter, up 24% from the previous three months, according to LSEG data.

Exxon will report its full first-quarter results on May 1. Investors closely watch the company's earnings snapshot, which details the market factors that impacted earnings, for signals about how the broader oil sector will perform when results are released next month.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Nathan Crooks, Will Dunham and Lincoln Feast)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/exxon-signals-lower-q1-profit-despite-higher-oil-gas-revenue-from-iran-war-price-spikes

Moving towards a sale!

European oil refining margins turn negative, bucking global trend
4/14/2026 12:00:00 PM

European refining margins turn negative despite record fuel prices, IEA and traders report
Asian refiners' competition for crude drives up costs, squeezing European margins
Simpler European refineries may cut runs if margin pressure persists, analysts and sources say
European oil refining margins have turned negative, lagging stronger margins in Asia and the U.S., as competition for crude from Asian buyers due to the Iran war drives up costs even as fuel prices hit record highs, according to IEA data and trade sources.

Northwest European light sweet hydroskimming margins dropped to an average of minus $6.45 a barrel in the week beginning April 6, the IEA said in its monthly report.

Margins for medium sour cracking were also in negative territory, the data showed. Light sweet cracking margins remain positive, though they have also weakened significantly.

The margin squeeze is a consequence of the surge in physical crude prices to record highs as the war in Iran disrupts Middle East flows.

The narrowing European margin effectively shows that these plants would be running at a loss, and is likely to prompt some to process less crude into fuels, analysts said.

Simpler European refineries, which lack upgrading units to extract more higher-value products such as jet fuel, could be forced to trim runs if margins remain under pressure, though there is no sign of widespread cuts yet, trading sources said.

"As things stand, Europe is going to cut utilization," Sparta Commodities analyst Neil Crosby said, adding that runs could fall by as much as 500,000 barrels per day.

Asian competition for crude drives up prices. By contrast, in the U.S. Gulf, heavy sour coking margins strengthened last week compared with the March average, IEA data showed. In Singapore, similarly, medium sour cracking margins were also stronger last week than their March averages.

The squeeze in Europe reflects rising crude costs as Asian refiners compete aggressively for cargoes, several trading sources said, as well as higher operating costs such as for electricity and natural gas.

"It's typical of these crises," said a trading source at a European refinery. "Fuel cracks rise first, but as crude and other costs adjust, margins get dented." He added that their margin dropped from about $30 a barrel in the first week of the conflict to just over $4 currently.

The squeeze comes after margins globally soared in March, with those in Europe reaching record highs.

In Singapore, the IEA said, margins in March were some 14-fold higher than February levels, while in northwest Europe light sweet hydroskimming margins in March were more than nine times higher than in February at $15.20 a barrel.

Some refiners even delayed planned shutdowns to take advantage of the higher fuel prices.

Italy's 300,000 barrel per day Sarroch refinery, for instance, pushed a maintenance shutdown from late March to mid-May, industry monitor IIR said. The refinery's operator, Vitol, declined to comment.

https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/news/2026/04/european-oil-refining-margins-turn-negative-bucking-global-trend/

When does the Kearl sale occur? Or at least the sale of some of the interest

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/imperial-oil-pipeline-spill-bitumen-emulsion-9.7165429

ExxonMobil Is Rewiring Its SAP Enterprise For The Energy Future

By Judith Magyar,Brand Contributor.
Nov 04, 2025, 07:59am EST

Harmonized data is becoming ExxonMobil’s new gold standard — the foundation for predictive analytics, AI, and faster decision-making.

“Digital transformation often gets mistaken for an IT upgrade,” said Kurt Aerts, business venture executive at ExxonMobil. He was speaking at the ASUG Best Practices event for Oil, Gas and Energy in Houston, Texas. “Our ongoing transformation is a powerful reminder that true change means transforming the business at scale. It’s not about implementing new systems — it’s about fundamentally changing how an enterprise operates and creates value.”

Not just another systems project
This philosophy underpins the company’s multi-year transformation that integrates people, processes, systems, and data across an organization with $350 billion in annual revenue, about 60,000 employees, and operations spanning upstream, chemicals, fuels, lubricants, and low-carbon solutions.

One of the key steps in ExxonMobil’s journey, which began in 2017, was to reframe the mindset. “We don’t want to optimize, we want to transform,” said Aerts.

Process transformation requires challenging deeply ingrained ways of working and prioritizing adoption of industry standards for each process area and service offering such as Record-to-Report, Source-to-Pay or Order-to-Cash, to drive globally consistent execution. This takes a governance model designed for clarity and speed of decision making — two prerequisites for meaningful transformation and to prevent the common trap of consensus-driven optimization.

Transforming the core
Aerts went on to describe ExxonMobil’s three core pillars of transformation:

Processes are now harmonized to industry standards enterprise-wide versus being executed differently by business or geography.

Systems are modernized from 12 heavily customized ERPs to a unified, cloud-based platform on SAP S/4HANA.

Data is being turned from fragmented, trapped information into harmonized consistently defined enterprise assets.

In the past, answering a simple question such as ‘how much do we sell to Walmart’ required hours of aggregating and reconciling across 12 ERPs. Real-time, enterprise-wide visibility will speed up the process considerably. “Harmonized data is becoming ExxonMobil’s new gold standard — the foundation for predictive analytics, AI, and faster decision-making,” Aerts explained.

Managing scale and risk
Large-scale transformation requires effective risk management. ExxonMobil’s approach balances value capture and risk mitigation.

Deployments are phased by the existing ERP ecosystem, not geography or function, to manage complexity and provide business continuity. A layered governance structure — from a sponsor committee of senior executives to operational design boards — supports accountability, transparency, and alignment at every level.

Aerts shared some lessons from the frontline, stressing the importance of foundational principles. When challenges arise, these principles help keep decisions aligned with strategic intent. Next, he reiterated that data matters most, because clean, consistent data is the real enabler of transformation. And finally, the team learned early on that an out-of-the-box approach really works. Industry-standard configurations deliver agility and prevent the drift toward customization that burdens future upgrades.

“We were able to achieve significant simplification,” he said. “For instance, we reduced about 1,400 company codes to under 1,000, and profit centers from more than 15,000 to fewer than 500. This has eliminated significant complexity while increasing transparency across financial reporting.”

ExxonMobil’s key metrics reflect the disciplined execution of the transformation, and is exceeding its targets on its two principal objectives:

80% target on Fit to Standard: a testament to the commitment to adopt industry standard processes.

90% target on Clean Core: enabling instant upgradeability and system resilience.

Ultimately, ExxonMobil’s enterprise transformation is about creating competitive advantage. By harmonizing data, simplifying systems, and standardizing processes across business lines and geographies, the company is positioning itself for faster innovation and improved experiences for employees, suppliers and customers.

Shaping the future
Transformation is also about visionary leadership in an industry that is adapting to societal needs on how energy is produced, distributed, and consumed. ExxonMobil has a long history of collaboration with SAP to address functionality gaps and ensure the solution is optimized for the oil and gas industry. In essence, ExxonMobil’s journey offers a blueprint for global organizations facing the same challenges, especially lack of agility caused by legacy systems, fragmented data, and decentralized processes.

Aerts concluded: “A successful transformation isn’t about replacing tools; it’s about redesigning processes, data and systems to deliver industry leading performance in efficiency, effectiveness and the experience of our employees and customers, while ensuring agility for adjustments required due to changes in the market.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2025/11/04/exxonmobil-is-rewiring-its-enterprise-for-the-energy-future/

I only see a few options.

1 - Keep under performing as a smaller, poorly managed Oil & Gas company?
2 - Buy something, incurring more debt?
3 - Sell all or part of Ovintiv now that Anadarko is closed and add in a heavy haricut to reduce headcount?

Good luck everyone.

Scott Sheffield of Pioneer wants to get a job as an ExxonMobil board member

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/17/2025-06562/petition-of-scott-sheffield-to-reopen-and-set-aside-order

can any of the people who are in a union at a refinery tell their union rep that Houston engineers want to unionize and have the union get something started ASAP!!!!

No surprise there. I've been trying to make a job switch for months. The job market right now is as bad as I've ever seen it. What does that tell you?

Someone said recently that anyone working Permian assets will have to move to Midland and all of the other Basins will be run out of OKC. Is this true?

Nothing says ‘competitive advantage’ like posting the Permian well logs, 1533’ core spacing, and perforation clusters. This is what winning looks like.

Thank you ST for posting that to LinkedIn

Chevron threatening to shut down El Segundo and Richmond is giving tremendous hope to decommissioning and remediation firms since there is way too much land to simply turn them into terminals. SJV will be on the accelerated hit list again too, I imagine.

Or maybe Chevron will accelerate the complete move to India and say sc--w you EPA. Bye bye Houston.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/economy/chevron-threatens-to-shut-down-california-refineries-warning-of-a-dangerous-game-for-gas-prices/ar-AA1ZtZWn

You cannot tweet you way out of 23% of world oil, 48% nat gas, and 4.5/5.0% 10 yr bond rate.

“.. US government officials and Wall Street analysts are starting to consider the prospect that oil prices might surge to an unprecedented $200 a barrel.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-iran-war-hormuz-closure-oil-shock/

“… US government officials and Wall Street analysts are starting to consider the prospect that oil prices might surge to an unprecedented $200 a barrel.”

Source:
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-iran-war-hormuz-closure-oil-shock/

ExxonMobil's breakthrough in fully automated offshore drilling in Guyana has significant implications for its shareholders. The automation system not only enhances drilling efficiency and execution but also offers potential cost savings and improved well economics. This shift towards automation may lead to a more consistent and reliable production profile, which is crucial for maintaining shareholder value. Additionally, the successful deployment of this technology could influence capital allocation for ExxonMobil's offshore projects, potentially protecting well economics amid volatile oil price cycles.

While the automation system introduces new risks, such as software failures and cyber vulnerabilities, the long-term benefits of increased efficiency and operational consistency are likely to outweigh these risks for ExxonMobil's shareholders. The company's ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of its automation technology in Guyana could serve as a blueprint for future field developments, potentially impacting capital allocation for other offshore projects and beyond.

Overall, ExxonMobil's automation breakthrough in Guyana represents a significant step forward for the company's upstream operations and could have a positive impact on its shareholders by enhancing operational efficiency and potentially protecting well economics.

https://energynews.africa/2026/03/18/exxonmobil-pioneers-fully-automated-offshore-drilling-in-guyana-redefining-future-project-economics/

This is from Barron's, link below:
Mike Wirth, CEO of Chevron, warned that energy markets are underestimating the severity of the oil supply shock caused by the Iran conflict. He said millions of barrels per day are already offline, with losses expected to grow, creating what experts describe as an “availability crisis.” Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route, are tightening supply, especially for Asia, while futures markets still project relatively moderate prices. Despite recent volatility, with oil briefly spiking above $100 before falling, Wirth believes current pricing does not fully reflect the real physical shortages.

The situation is further complicated by uncertainty around how long the conflict will last and how quickly damaged infrastructure can be restored. Goldman Sachs has already raised its oil price forecast for 2026, anticipating prolonged disruption in supply flows. Even if the war ends soon, experts say it could take weeks, months, or longer to bring production fully back online, meaning supply constraints may persist. Overall, the article suggests that oil markets may be too optimistic, and prices could rise further if the supply shock proves more sustained than expected.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/chevron-ceo-crude-oil-prices-futures-f65915b8

No paywall:
https://archive.is/MHNek

IT SVP "Chay Chinsethagid" is asked to leave H&P as part of Re-org in March 2026.
Kane Ramasamy who is IT Senior director, let go from the Service in March 2026, Several other individuals also impacted by recent layoffs after the new President took the charge.

You would be smart to quit your Oracle job in California and move to find a job in either St Louis Missouri, Detroit Michigan or Cook County Illinois which is Chicago. Gas in all three cities is cheaper but you’re going to have to dodge all the bustin caps going along with the natives. As far as schools go, forget it.

It's my first job and I'd hate to lose it before I even properly started.

What will Chevron do now that Trump is planning to restart ops offshore California?

How much longer will this outfit last till its bankrupt or bought out? 5 years, 10, ???

What happened to our wood river refinery? Don’t tell me we sold it at a low price?!?

Does anyone see any positives or negatives for Shell (besides $100/b oil) with all of the chaos in the ME region?

OVV has assembled the weakest and most incompetent Executive Team in the history of Oil and Gas! Doug, please come back and clean this mess up!

• Nine vessels attacked since U.S.-Iran conflict began
• BP evacuates foreign staff from Iraqi oil field due to drones
• Putin considers halting gas exports to Europe

Any concerns about Leviathan and Tamar? Glad I am not on location.

With the big jump in oil price, I expected stock price of the oil majors (particularly the ones that don’t ship through the strait) to jump proportionately. They are actually flat or slightly down. Thoughts?