Exxon Struggles for Growth

ExxonMobil may have record a whopping $11 billion profit yesterday, but its share still fell nearly 4 per cent as analysts warned that the company might fail to grow at all in the next five years.
The bottom line is the world’s biggest energy group’s oil production fell almost 10 per cent in the first three months of the year. Neil McMahon, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein, said: “Over the next five years their slow production growth guidance may not come to pass at these high oil prices given production sharing agreements.”
Exxon’s overall oil and gas production fell 5.6 per cent from the year-earlier quarter. Production in Africa, a key new area of investment, fell 20 per cent as high oil prices and contract stipulations forced it to hand over more of its production to host country governments. Venezuela’s nationalisation of its oil fields also hurt the group’s volumes, as did declines at Canadian gas fields.
It may be awash with cash, but its running out of oil.