Oil majors announce a brighter financial picture.
BP reports the first half of 2021 profits were a healthy $7.8bn, up from a loss of $21bn in the same period in 2020. Q2 2021 profits of $3.1bn are down from $4.7bn in the first quarter. Bernard Looney CEO describes this last year as a "a year into executing BP's strategy to become an integrated energy company and are making good progress - delivering another quarter of strong performance while investing for the future in a disciplined way."
Also announcing healthier half year results than quarterly is Shell, with a half year income of $9bn, up 150% from a loss in the same period of last year of $18.1bn. The company has reported a Q2 2021 income of $3.4bn, down from $5.6bn in the first quarter.
Compared with the first quarter of 2021, current quarter adjusted earnings reflected higher realised oil prices, one-off favourable tax impacts, higher marketing margins and lower operating expenses. This was partly offset by lower contributions from trading and optimisation.
With an adjusted net income of $3.5bn in Q2 2021, TotalEnergies has increased its adjusted net income by a multiple of 27.5 (15% increase) from the same period in 2020. The first half 2021 figures are $6.5bn, up by a multiple of 3.4 from the same period last year.
Patrick Pouyanné, Chair and CEO said, "In the second quarter, thanks to the progressive recovery of global demand and OPEC+ discipline, TotalEnergies benefited from oil and gas markets that were 13% and 28% higher respectively quarter to quarter."
Best-ever quarterly chemical and lubricants contributions and oil and natural gas demand have led to ExxonMobil announcing that earnings have increased $5.8bn over the second quarter of 2020. The company has reported estimated Q2 2021 earnings of $4.7bn, compared with a loss of $1.1bn in the same period in 2020. The first half of 2021 the company had earnings of $7.4bn compared to a loss of $1.7bn in the same period of 2020.
Meanwhile Chevron has announced Q2 2021 earnings of $3.1bn compared with a loss of $8.3bn in the second quarter of 2020. In the first six months of 2021, the company had earnings of $4.45bn compared with a loss of $4.7bn in the same period in 2020.
“Second quarter earnings were strong, reflecting improved market conditions, combined with transformation benefits and merger synergies,” said Mike Wirth, Chevron’s Chairman and CEO.
The positive trend continues with Fuchs which has announced a strong first half of 2021 in what the company describes as a challenging environment. Sales revenue has been reported as €1.4bn up 26% from €1.1bn in the same period of 2020. EBIT is at €191m, 71% above the previous year.
Stefan Fuchs, Chairman said, "Driven by the automotive industry in China, the region Asia-Pacific again saw the highest growth rates. EMEA and North and South America also improved their performance compared to the first half of 2020, which was burdened by the pandemic."
Phillips 66 has announced much improved second-quarter 2021 earnings of $296m, compared with a loss of $654m in the first quarter of 2021. Excluding special items of $33m, the company had adjusted earnings of $329m in the second quarter, compared with a first-quarter adjusted loss of $509m.
“Our second-quarter results reflect the recovery of operations after the prior quarter’s winter storms, as well as further product demand improvement as more people across the globe are vaccinated,” said Greg Garland, Chairman and CEO of Phillips 66.