HOUSTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Texas-based ExxonMobil said it plans $1 billion in upgrades to three of its refineries amid a spiraling decline in the global economy, executives said.
Several oil companies have pulled back or canceled investment projects and transport arteries as spending collapses amid a frozen credit market.
Sherman Glass, president of ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co., said the investments reflect a coached approach to investments as the sector shifts from petrol to diesel fuel, the Financial Times said Tuesday.
"These projects should be providing returns for decades to come," Glass said. "We try not to be affected by the short term, and have a steady investment profile over time."
Oil majors from the French Total to ConocoPhillips and the Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. have postponed several refinery projects, though partnerships with state-owned energy firms suggest they may go ahead once the economy recovers.
ExxonMobil said the upgrades, slated for the United States and Belgium, will create around 2,000 jobs.
The news comes as the consultant firm Wood Mackenzie said less than 20 percent of the projects announced from 2005 were scheduled to move forward in 2009 amid the economic downturn.
