Exxon, Majors Battle to Lift Profits as Oil Use Sags

(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil Corp., PetroChina Co. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are battling slumping fuel demand as oil majors seek to rebuild profits battered by the global fallout from the worst U.S. downturn since the Great Depression.

Exxon Mobil

Oil companies around the world are slashing costs, cutting jobs and holding back on some new investment to halt the slide in earnings, even as they seek to fund renewable energy projects. Exxon Mobil cut its capital-spending estimate for 2009 by 10 percent as third-quarter profits at the Irving, Texas- based explorer and Shell hit their lowest level in six years.