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ExxonMobil Q2 Upstream Output, Excluding Middle East, at Two-Decade High

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US energy giant ExxonMobil (XOM) produced 4.514 million oil equivalent barrels per day in Q2 and said upstream output from advantaged assets outside the Middle East hit its highest in more than two decades.

In Q1, the company had reported production of 4.594 million oeb/d. Year-to-date, production volumes averaged 4.554 million oeb/d, which compares to 4.591 million oeb/d in the corresponding year-ago period.

"Excluding the Middle East, we delivered our highest production in more than two decades - roughly 4.1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day," the company said in its earnings statement.

Middle East output for the quarter ended June 30 was reported at 400,000 oeb/d, which comprised of 150,000 oeb/d domestic gas in Qatar and 250,000 oeb/d of liquids in the UAE.

In Q2, the company reported energy products sales of 5.698 million b/d, up from 5.63 million b/d in the previous quarter. Year-to-date, energy products sales stood at 5.664 million b/d, versus 5.436 million b/d last year.

Specialty Products Sales for the quarter were reported at 1.784 million tons, down from 1.976 million tons in Q1. Year-to-date, it was reported at 3.76 million tons, which compares to 3.94 million tons in the year-ago period.

"Upstream earnings improved, with record Permian production of more than [1.8 million oeb/d] and the absence of operational disruptions in Kazakhstan, partly offset by the Middle East disruptions," the company said.

Middle East disruptions have caused year-to-date earnings to decline by $1.8 billion, the company added.

Exxon said its Guyana assets are on track to reach production of about 1.3 million oeb/d within about 15 years of discovery. A fifth floating production, storage and offloading vessel there is on track to begin production in Q4 and add 250,000 barrels per day of capacity.

In Q3, a production-sharing adjustment in Guyana and the pace of recovery in the Middle East will be reflected in the group's upstream production, ExxonMobil said.

The Guyana adjustment is expected to reduce ExxonMobil's net entitlement volumes by about 100,000 barrels per day in Q3, reflecting "standard contractual allocation of production following cost recovery" rather than lower production, the company said.

Meanwhile, Middle East output will depend on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with estimates that closure of the vital waterway throughout Q3 would cause a 750,000 oeb/d year-on-year decline in output, the group said.

"Even after the Strait reopens, the two damaged Qatar LNG trains will remain offline, representing approximately [100,000 oeb] or about 3% of 2025 global production. We will continue working with the operator to support their safe and efficient return to service, but the timing of recovery remains uncertain," the company said.

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