Energy giants pump more gas, raise profits

Double-digit increases expected in Q2 reports amid war on climate change

The world's largest oil companies are pumping more natural gas than ever before, helping to spur a rise in profits while sating rising global demand for fuels that can mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions.



The rise of gas-powered electric generation, surging production from US shale fields and the burgeoning liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry that makes shipping the fuel possible, have conspired to create a boom.



BP Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Chevron Corp have collectively increased natural gas output by 15 percent over the past decade thanks to better technology and lower costs, according to data from energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.



Analysts expect all to post double-digit increases in second-quarter profit reports in the coming days.



Exxon, for its part, sees natural gas usage growing at the fastest rate of any energy type through 2040, reaching a quarter of global demand by that time.



"Worries about energy supplies have faded away, erased in large part by natural gas," said Exxon CEO Darren Woods.



Exxon is expected by analysts to post a 62 percent increase in quarterly profit to $5.45 billion.



Chevron, which operates two major LNG facilities in Australia, is expected by analysts to post a quarterly profit of $4 billion on Friday, more than double year-ago levels.



Gas does have limitations, however. It's harder to transport than crude oil, which can be stored indefinitely in tanks, and it must be processed right away, boosting costs.



But greenhouse emissions from gas are far less than coal or oil when it is burned, boosting its appeal for a sector eager to combat allegations that it is the primary cause of anthropogenic climate change.



China will become the world's top importer of natural gas next year, boosted by LNG purchases, as its superpower economy grows and weans itself off coal-generated energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual gas report in late June. Its LNG imports are expected to rise to 93 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2023 from 51 bcm in 2017, according to the IEA.





