The 2 largest U.S. oil firms reported their lowest first-quarter income in years on Friday as they braced for the financial fallout from President Trump’s commerce battle, which has weakened shopper confidence and pushed oil costs down.
U.S. crude costs slipped beneath $60 a barrel this week, a threshold beneath which many firms can not generate profits drilling new wells. Crude oil is now about $20 a barrel cheaper than it was simply earlier than Mr. Trump took workplace. Not solely is oil fetching much less, firms are paying extra for metal and different supplies due to tariffs the president has imposed.
There are indicators that some firms are already pulling again.
As of final week, the variety of rigs drilling wells within the Permian Basin, the most important U.S. oil area, had fallen 3 % in a month, in accordance with Baker Hughes, an oil area service supplier. That firm’s clients have been laying aside discretionary bills, and spending throughout the trade is prone to fall this yr, Baker Hughes executives mentioned final week.
“We’re seeing important downward stress on costs and margins. On this atmosphere, it’s extra necessary than ever to concentrate on what we are able to management,” Darren Woods, chief government of Exxon Mobil, advised analysts on Friday.
The monetary outcomes reported by Exxon, the most important U.S. oil and fuel firm, and Chevron mirror the market earlier than Mr. Trump introduced his newest spherical of tariffs. Across the identical time, the oil cartel often known as OPEC Plus stunned the market by saying its members would velocity up plans to pump extra oil.
Exxon’s reported revenue of $7.7 billion within the first three months of the yr, down about 6 % from a yr earlier.
Chevron’s first-quarter revenue fell greater than a 3rd, to $3.5 billion, as the corporate earned much less for every barrel of oil it produced. Decrease margins in refining additionally harm earnings.
Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil firm, mentioned months in the past that it might spend much less in 2025, and it as not modified its annual manufacturing or capital spending forecasts since. However the firm mentioned that it might pare its spending on share buybacks within the second quarter, in contrast with the primary three months of the yr.
“We’re snug with the place we’re proper now,” Eimear Bonner, the corporate’s chief monetary officer, mentioned in an interview. “We’ve navigated cycles earlier than. We all know what to do.”
Chevron’s inventory value was up round 2 % Friday afternoon, roughly in keeping with the broader market, which gained on a report that confirmed the U.S. economic system added extra jobs in April than analysts had anticipated. Exxon’s share value was little modified.
The query for a lot of vitality firms is how lengthy oil costs will stay round $60 a barrel or much less. In the event that they slip to $50, home manufacturing might fall roughly 8 % in a yr, in accordance with S&P International Commodity Insights. The US is the world’s largest oil producer.
Firms are slicing prices the place they will as they anticipate larger readability on U.S. commerce coverage, mentioned Joseph Esteves, chief government of Maine Pointe, a consulting agency that focuses on operations and provide chain points.
“It’s attending to the purpose of no rock unturned, no sofa cushion unexplored,” Mr. Esteves mentioned.
Mr. Woods mentioned decrease commodity costs might make different firms enticing acquisition targets for Exxon, which final yr purchased Pioneer Pure Sources for round $60 billion.
“We need to make it possible for we’re making the most of any of the alternatives that we see on the market,” he mentioned.
Ms. Bonner mentioned Chevron was experiencing a “restricted direct influence” from tariffs. The corporate has been working to mitigate the consequences by shopping for provides equivalent to metal regionally, she mentioned. Chevron estimated that the price of wells in the US would change by 1 % due to tariffs.
Chevron faces a deadline of late Could to wind down exercise in Venezuela after Mr. Trump took steps to reverse a Biden-era coverage that allowed extra oil to be produced within the nation. The brand new guidelines are already having an impact. The corporate has been unable to load oil onto ships to be exported to the US from Venezuela due to modifications to its license, executives mentioned.
“The barrels are flowing, they’re simply not flowing to the U.S. at present,” Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chief government, advised analysts.