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Exxon on track to meet annual share repurchase target

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Lower-cost production in Permian, Guyana helps boost

earnings

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Oil and gas production up from a year ago

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Shares gain 0.2% in early trading

(Adds detail from earnings conference call, updates share

movement)

By Sheila Dang

HOUSTON, May 2 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) on Friday

beat Wall Street's estimate for first-quarter profit as higher

oil and gas production from Guyana and the Permian basin helped

boost earnings.

The largest U.S. oil producer paid $4.3 billion in dividends

and repurchased $4.8 billion in shares during the quarter. The

buyback figure puts Exxon on track to meet its annual share

repurchase goal of $20 billion.

The energy sector has faced a tumultuous start to the year after

U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariff announcements stoked

recession fears. Those concerns triggered a slump in oil prices

because a weaker economy needs less energy to fuel it.

At the same time, the OPEC+ group of oil producers has been

increasing output, leading to more crude supply and further

pressuring prices.

Even so, Exxon reiterated its previous guidance of spending

between $27 billion to $29 billion in 2025. CEO Darren Woods

said despite pressure from short-term investors to cut

expenditures and return more money to shareholders, the company

will continue investing to maintain its position.

"I suspect with today's level of market uncertainty, the

call for this will be even stronger. That's short-sighted,"

Woods said during a conference call with analysts.

Exxon reported a profit for the January-March quarter of

$7.71 billion or $1.76 per share, beating analyst estimates of

$1.73 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The results set it apart from rival U.S. oil major Chevron ( CVX )

, which said on Friday it would cut share repurchases

during the second quarter.

"(Exxon) appears to have reiterated guidance on the

shareholder returns front, which should be expected given the

company's strong balance sheet," said Biraj Borkhataria, an

analyst at RBC Capital Markets, in a research note.

Global oil and gas production totaled 4.55 million barrels

of oil equivalent per day (boepd) during the quarter, up from

3.78 million boepd in the same period last year.

Exxon is the largest producer in the Permian basin, the top

U.S. oilfield, and operates the lucrative Stabroek block off the

coast of Guyana. Cost of supply in the Permian is less than $35

per barrel, the company has previously said, allowing it to make

money even at lower oil prices.

Higher production from the Permian and Guyana helped boost

earnings from oil and gas production to $6.76 billion, up from

$5.66 billion in the same period last year.

Refining profits were $827 million, down from $1.38 billion

a year earlier.

New projects have more exposure to tariffs, but the company

has not yet seen significant issues, Woods said.

Exxon has been locked in an arbitration battle with rival

Chevron ( CVX ) over Chevron's ( CVX ) planned $53 billion acquisition

of Hess, which owns a 30% interest in a Guyana oil joint venture

that is led by Exxon.

A hearing in the arbitration case is scheduled for May 26 in

London.

Shares of Exxon, which have fallen 9% over the past year, were

flat in morning trading.