ExxonMobil and Chevron, the largest energy companies in the United States, said on Friday that profits surged in the second quarter as they continued to benefit from soaring oil and gas prices.
Exxon reported revenue of $ 17.9 billion in the three months to June. That’s more than three times what I earned a year ago. Energy giant revenues surged from $ 67.7 billion a year ago to $ 115.6 billion. Chevron’s performance is similar, with revenues more than tripled to $ 11.6 billion as sales increased from $ 36 billion in the previous year to $ 65 billion.
Bumper results were expected after oil prices almost doubled a year ago, but Exxon and Chevron are still above analysts’ quarterly earnings forecasts. On Thursday, Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, also reported record quarterly profits.
This year’s plunge in the energy industry is followed by soaring oil, gas and gasoline prices, which punish Moscow primarily by blocking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and oil sales to other parts of the world. It is due to efforts. The global economy, which has recovered from the coronavirus pandemic and the hesitation of a rapid increase in production among oil producers, has also caused oil prices to rise sharply.
In the three months to June, the average US crude oil benchmark was about $ 109 per barrel, 64% higher than in the year-ago quarter, according to Bloomberg data. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices on Friday were close to $ 99 a barrel.
US gasoline prices have reached a national record average of just over $ 5 per gallon. June 14, According to AAA, but has also receded in recent weeks. The national average price on Friday was about $ 4.26 per gallon.
These petrol prices have become a major issue for Americans dealing with the highest inflation in 40 years, and energy production from President Biden, who said in June that “Exxon made more money than God this year.” Caused sharp criticism of the person. “He accused the company of not investing enough in production.
In a letter to executives at a major oil company later that month, Mr Biden accused them of making a profit at the expense of consumers.
“During the war, it is unacceptable for refinery profit margins to be passed directly to American families,” Biden said in a letter. Recently, the president has praised the fall in gas prices.
Exxon said on Friday that the refining profits from processing crude oil into gasoline and other fuels surged from a loss of $ 856 million a year ago to $ 5.3 billion. Chevron’s second-quarter refining profit increased from $ 839 million in the previous year to $ 3.5 billion.
This year, the jackpot of oil producers’ profits has not been lost to equity investors. The energy sector is one of two S & P 500 groups, with a total of 11 profitable in 2022 (the other is a utility).
Overall, the energy sector is up 32.5% annually until Thursday, while the broader S & P 500 is down 15.1%. Exxon and Chevron shares both rose in pre-market trading on Friday.
