ExxonMobil sees $500m Q4 impact from hurricanes

30 October 2008 17:41  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Hurricanes Gustav and Ike will cut ExxonMobil’s fourth-quarter earnings by $500m (€390m) due to damage repairs and lower volumes associated with the storms, the company said on Thursday.

The financial loss associated with Gustav and Ike in the fourth quarter would be evenly split in repairs and output loss, said ExxonMobil’s vice president investor relations and secretary David Rosenthal.

The hurricanes impacted third-quarter upstream volumes by 24,000 oil equivalent bbl/day and a similar drop is expected in the fourth quarter, the official said during a conference call.

ExxonMobil said the majority of its operations affected by Gustav and Ike was back on line or in the final stages of start-up.

But the company said its Beaumont chemical complex in Texas remained off line.

ExxonMobil has an 826,000-tonne/year olefins cracker at the site, which experienced severe flooding during Hurricane Ike.

The company did not say when the plant would be restarted.

ExxonMobil also has a refinery in Beaumont with 348,500 bbl/day of capacity.

The refinery, the sixth largest in the US, began processing crude oil on 16 October. It is unknown when the unit will return to full capacity.

ExxonMobil on Thursday posted third-quarter net income of $14.8bn, a 58% increase from the year-earlier quarter.

The company said the result included an after-tax special gain of $1.62bn and an after-tax special charge of $170m in a provision related to the Valdez punitive damage award.

($1 = €0.78)

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By: William Lemos
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