(Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp has ended a major campaign to find oil in Brazil, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The oil and gas giant has stopped current drilling at the offshore acreage it started snapping up with partners for $4 billion in 2017, after failing for the third time to find commercially viable quantities of crude, the report said.
However, the company has not ruled out future projects in the country, the report added, citing sources.
Exxon had bet billions of dollars on offshore drilling in Brazil, and the country was one of the three geographic areas the company was counting on for most of its future production.
The other two – Guyana and U.S. shale country – are performing well, but Exxon is yet to make a major oil discovery as an operator in Brazil’s water.
The reported news comes less than a day after Exxon signalled that its first-quarter operating profits dropped about 25% from last year’s record levels on easing oil and gas prices.
Reuters could not immediately reach Exxon outside U.S. office hours.
(Reporting by Akriti Sharma and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
