Exxon Mobil has recently announced its projected 2015 earnings of $16.2 billion compared to the $32.5 billion Exxon Mobil earnings one year earlier. The steep lower commodity prices in the Upstream counterbalanced the Higher Downstream and Chemical earnings.

The giant oil company has finished six key Upstream projects in 2015 and accomplished a one-year plan to generate 4.1 million oil-equivalent barrels a day. These new projects in West Africa, Norway, Indonesia and the United States generated an additional 300,000 oil-equivalent barrels a day in terms of interest production capacity.

"While our financial results reflect the challenging environment, we remain focused on the business fundamentals, including project execution and effective cost management," said Rex W. Tillerson, Exxon Mobil chairman and chief executive officer.

"The scale and diversity of our cash flows, along with our financial strength, provide us with the confidence to invest through the cycle to create long-term shareholder value," he added.

With its Exxon Mobil earnings on the rise, the corporation also declared its first quarter dividends on Jan. 27, 2015. The board of directors of the company announced that the company will give 73 cents per share on its Common Stock, which will be payable on March 10, 2016.

Eligible for this dividend are shareholders of record, of Common Stock at the close of business hours on Feb. 11, 2016.

The dividend is at an equal level as the dividend which was paid in Q4 2015. With such dividends, Exxon Mobil earnings are shared with the corporation's shareholders, a practice the company has observed for over 100 years.

Exxon Mobil has increased its dividend payments to shareholders each year, for 33 consecutive years.

In 2015, the corporation disbursed $15.1 billion to shareholders in dividends and share purchases to cut outstanding shares. Exxon Mobil earnings for the fourth quarter were $2.8 billion or $0.67 per diluted share. Actually, it is down from $6.6 billion during the same period last year.