Exxon CEO Sees Higher Capital Spending Next Year
By Adam L. Freeman
NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Dow Jones) - With gas and oil prices trending downward, many industry watchers are expecting oil companies to cut spending, but the world's most profitable company doesn't see it that way.
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"I would expect that our capital spending next year will be higher than it is this year," Lee Raymond, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), told CNBC Thursday.
And with fuel prices down, why would the company be spending more of its cash?
The capital spending will be "driven by projects in the upstream (such as exploration and development) that we have committed to over the last two to three years," Raymond said.
Exxon's shares are down about 10% for the year, but Raymond said he accepts the ups and downs of the stock market, and tries to keep them in perspective.
"Our objective is to maintain a steady approach to capital investments and capital plans," he said, "which means we don't go up as high when (the price of fuel) goes up, and we don't go down as much when it goes down." |
