Oil and Gas - Huge Profits of Oil and Gas Companies

E D I T O R ‘ S N O T E
The first three months
of this year saw record
profits for some of
the world’s largest oil
companies, even as consumers
across the world grapple with
increasing energy costs. Exxon
Mobil, Shell, and other major
oil companies saw their profits
rise by billions of dollars in the
wake of the conflict in Ukraine,
despite huge expenses
associated with departing
operations and/or investments
in Russia.
Profits of Oil
Companies 2022
Energy-dependent nations
panicked after Russia’s
incursion into Ukraine earlier
this year, driving up oil prices
by more than $1 per barrel in
the first quarter of 2022. As
reported by the Associated
Press, Brent crude, the
worldwide standard for oil
prices, averaged $102.23 a
barrel in the first quarter, up
67% over the same time last
year. Because of this, petrol
costs have skyrocketed in the
United States and across the
globe.
Oil companies, on the other
hand, are drawing fire as
inflation continues to damage
the budgets of Americans.
Some politicians have urged
companies to put the needs of
their customers ahead of their
shareholders’ interests.
In April, Democrats in the House of Representatives Carolyn
Maloney and Ro Khanna encouraged the CEOs of ExxonMobil,
Shell, BP, and Chevron to abandon plans for stock buybacks and
dividends in favor of cutting prices. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio
has said that the firms are simply focused on profits and hiding
behind an excuse of increasing operational expenses.
Even the White House was concerned about oil industry price
gouging. Untapped oil wells and leased public lands should be
charged to oil companies, according to the Biden administration’s
request to Congress in late March. Oil CEOs should not benefit
from everyone else’s financial misery while their corporations
achieve record profits. Consumers and oil firms must both be
held responsible for their actions.
Additionally, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP),
the oil sector would also need to spend three-quarters of its
capital investment in low-carbon technology if catastrophic
climate change is to be averted.
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