The oil industry reported mixed fortunes for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Against the continued backdrop of Deepwater Horizon, BP's fourth quarter of 2012 showed underlying profits down $1bn. For the full year, profits fell from $21.7bn in 2011 to $17.6bn last year.
The company has already paid out some $36bn in penalties or compensation and an impending civil trial may apply further financial penalties. Now Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana are demanding $34bn for economic losses and property damage although BP is disputing the way the amount has been calculated.
Primarily reflecting the criminal settlement agreement with the Department of Justice, BP took an additional $4.1bn charge in the fourth quarter. The total cumulative net charge for the Gulf of Mexico incident to the end of the 2012 was $42.2bn.
On a positive note, BP had reduced its net debt to $27.5bn by the end of 2012 — down from $31.5bn at the end of the third quarter. The company's downstream delivered record earnings for the year with a fourth consecutive year of underlying profit growth.
French major Total reavealed adjusted net income or €3.1bn ($4.0bn) for the fourth quarter of 2012, up 13%, with an 8% improvement for the whole year. Start-up production, significant discoveries and expanded exploration acreage were highlights for the company in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Shell revealed a 15% fourth-quarter increase in current costs of supplies (CCS) earnings with full year earnings improving by 2%. Cash flow from operating activities was $9.9bn in the fourth quarter 2012 and $46.1bn for the full year.
Phillips 66's fourth-quarter earnings of $708 million were some way off the $2bn announced for the same period in 2011. However, adjusted earnings of $1.3bn were up on $379 million year-on-year. The company has processed a 67 percent advantaged crude slate in the U.S. to generate operating cash flow of $1.3bn.
There was good news for Chevron which reported earnings of $7.2bn for the fourth quarter 2012, compared with $5.1bn for the same period in the 201. Results include a gain of $1.4bn from an upstream asset exchange. However, full-year 2012 earnings were $26.2bn down 3% from $26.9 billion in 2011. Lower crude oil volumes were mainly responsible for a drop in Q4 sales and other operating revenues which slipped from $58bn to $56bn.
A positive fourth quarter 2012 was also declared by ExxonMobil with earnings of more than $9.9bn, a 6% year-on-year improvement. Full year 2012 earnings were $44.9bn, up 9% from 2011, with record earnings per share of $9.70. The company reported a 6% increase on earnings from the previous year's fourth quarter and capital and exploration expenditures were a record $39.8 billion for the year.