Big oil companies are continuing to reap the benefits of high commodity prices but aren’t backing off plans to reward investors while keeping production roughly flat.
Exxon XOM -2.24% Mobil Corp. said Friday it collected $5.5 billion in first-quarter profit, more than double the same period last year. The U.S. oil giant said it would triple its share repurchases, but will keep oil-field spending at a modest pace.
Chevron Corp. CVX -3.16% , the second-largest U.S. oil company after Exxon, on Friday said it made $6.3 billion in quarterly profit, its highest in almost a decade and up from about $1.4 billion in the same period last year. The company has paid out $4 billion to investors in dividends and share repurchases this year.
