Exxon Mobil Corp executives announced yesterday, Wednesday, September 20, 2023, that the company expects its profits for fuels and chemicals to reach $16 billion by 2027, an increase of approximately $4 billion compared to at current levels.

The rise in refining profits at the largest American oil company this year is in part due to a massive expansion in refining capacity and a focus on higher-margin chemicals. Executives predict that gas demand will not peak until the end of the decade, which is much longer than other forecasters. In fact, the company has consolidated its formerly separate petroleum and chemical refining businesses and reorganized its operations to rapidly switch from fuels to chemicals, based on what pays the