Profits at ExxonMobil, Chevron skyrocket with oil prices

With crude surging above $100 a barrel shortly after the Russian invasion, and refining margins climbing due to tight plant capacity, ExxonMobil scored $17.9 billion in profits and Chevron $11.6 billion in the just-finished second quarter.

ExxonMobil Chief Executive Darren Woods said the strong results “reflect our focus on the fundamentals and the investments we put in motion several years ago and sustained through the depths of the pandemic.”

Although gas prices at the pump have dropped in the past month, the massive profits drew criticism from advocacy group Public Citizens, which said on Twitter that “corporate greed is suffocating the working class.” 

“While you were feeling pain at the pump, Shell, Exxon and Chevron raked in $46 billion in profits over the last three months and said they would spend up to $47 billion on stock buybacks after spending $18.8 billion so far this year,” sanders said.

The latest three months have proved a heady period for the oil industry.

The ensuing surge in US gasoline prices to an all-time high in mid-June has squeezed American families and pressured President Joe Biden, who has had a fractious relationship with ExxonMobil and Chevron and the oil industry more generally.

On Friday, both companies reported higher oil and natural gas volumes in the United States, with ExxonMobil boosted by an increased 130,000 barrels of oil-equivalent in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and Chevron notching a three percent rise in US volumes.

Both companies reported big increases in revenues, with ExxonMobil’s jumping 71 percent to $115.7 billion and Chevron 83 percent to $69 billion.

Instead, the companies have been steering funds to shareholders. ExxonMobil paid out $7.6 billion in distributions during the quarter, while Chevron lifted the top end of its annual share repurchase range to $15 billion from $10 billion.

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Originally published as Profits at ExxonMobil, Chevron skyrocket with oil prices