Calgary-based Imperial, which is majority-owned by Exxon Mobil Corp, is benefitting from higher global oil prices as fuel usage picks up from last year, when coronavirus pandemic-related lockdowns decimated demand.
The recovery, however, remains spotty with second and third waves of COVID-19 surging in various parts of the world, including Canada, and an uneven rollout of vaccines.
Chevron Corp, Occidental Petroleum Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp dipped between 0.9% and 1.2% in premarket trading as oil prices retreated on demand fears.
Alphabet, which will report the cost and operating profit of its Google Cloud business for the first time, added 1.5pc, while retail behemoth Amazon.com Inc rose 1.4pc.
Brent crude futures rose $1.12, or 2.2%, to settle at $51.20 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.1, or 2.3%, to settle at $48.12 a barrel.
Exxon expects the intensity of upstream emissions to drop by 15pc to 20pc, methane intensity by 40pc to 50pc and flaring intensity by 35pc to 45pc by 2025.
The largest US oil producer had previously said it would cut its global workforce by about 15%.
Exxon and other oil companies have been slashing costs due to a collapse in oil demand due to the coronavirus pandemic and ill-timed bets on new projects.
“ExxonMobil is evaluating all appropriate steps to significantly reduce capital and operating expenses in the near term as a result of market conditions and commodity price decreases,” said Exxon spokesperson while talking to Business Recorder.