Exxon and Chevron Don't Even Thank You
But They Continue To Rack Up Giant Profits Off Your Pain In A fourth Straight Quarter Of Robust Results.
Yet still no shortages of fuel.
WASHINGTON— New federal data shows the Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year, far outpacing the Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,658.
Nearly 2,000 of the drilling permits were approved on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management’s New Mexico office, followed by 843 in Wyoming, 285 in Montana and North Dakota, and 191 in Utah. In California, the Biden administration approved 187 permits — more than twice the 71 drilling permits Trump approved in that state in his first year.
As to why they weren't drilling more, oil executives blamed Wall Street. Nearly 60% cited "investor pressure to maintain capital discipline" as the primary reason oil companies weren't drilling more despite skyrocketing prices, according to the Dallas Fed survey.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the largest U.S. oil companies, reported on Friday a fourth consecutive quarter of robust profits on the back of high oil and natural gas prices and strong chemical and refining earnings.
But the companies remain cautious as they face uncertain future prices because of a weakening global economy and international conflict.
Exxon CEO: We're helping Americans suffering from gas prices by hiking investor dividends
Exxon CEO Darren Woods on Friday shot back at criticisms about his company raking in record profits even as Americans suffer from paying high gas prices.
Bloomberg News reports that Woods said that his company is giving back to ordinary Americans by hiking up the dividends being paid out to the company's shareholders.
“There has been discussion in the U.S. about our industry returning some of our profits directly to the American people,” he said in prepared remarks ahead of the company’s earnings conference call. “That’s exactly what we’re doing in the form of our quarterly dividend.”
Given that most Americans are not investors in Exxon, it seems doubtful that "the American people" as a whole will benefit from this announcement.
Additionally, hiking up dividends is beneficial to Exxon executives who are compensated with company shares, as the higher dividends will increase those shares' value.
In total, reports Bloomberg, Exxon raised its quarterly dividend payout to 91 cents per share, higher than the 88 cents per share consensus forecast.
Exxon’s profit of $19.7 billion from operations topped the previous quarter’s $17.9 billion. The oil giant’s latest quarterly profit was nearly triple what it made in the same period last year. It cited oil and natural gas output as major contributors, along with cost cutting.
The company said its production in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico was its highest ever, as was the volume of its North American refining. “The investments we’ve made, even through the pandemic, enabled us to increase production to address the needs of consumers,” Darren Woods, the chief executive, said in a statement.
The company said it was continuing a policy of disciplined investing, not budging from budget plans set before oil prices spiked following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Woods said the company was committed to “rigorous cost control.”
Chevron reported a profit of $11.2 billion in the third quarter, down slightly from the previous quarter but nearly double the year before. Mike Wirth, Chevron’s chief executive, called it “another quarter of strong financial performance.” The company’s operations in the Permian Basin also set a quarterly production record, at 700,000 barrels per day, a 12 percent jump from the previous year.
Chevron has increased investments since the 2020 pandemic, but spending remains below levels in 2019.
On Thursday, Shell and TotalEnergies reported that their profits in the third quarter were more than double those of the same period the year before.
According to the International Energy Agency, the net income for the world’s oil and natural gas producers is set to double in 2022 from 2021, to a record $4 trillion. “Today’s high fossil fuel prices have generated an unprecedented windfall for producers,” the agency, which is based in Paris, said in its World Energy Outlook, released this week.
Oil prices last winter jumped to over $120 a barrel from $76 on the perception that Russian production — which has accounted for roughly one in 10 barrels consumed worldwide — would diminish under the pressure of sanctions regarding the invasion of Ukraine. But prices have eased to levels slightly above where they were before the invasion, as Russia has countered reduced European markets with increased sales to China and India.
Saudi Arabia and its allies in OPEC Plus moved this month to support prices by slashing their production quotas by a total of two million barrels a day. The decision sent oil prices higher for a few days before they reversed.
The high commodity prices and record profits through much of the year have increased political pressure on oil companies to increase output and lower prices at the gasoline pump. President Biden has repeatedly called on the companies to produce more, but their responses have been tepid.
The rig count is steadily rising lately, but it is still significantly below the drilling levels prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. A three-year look at drilling activity shows the dramatic impact of the pandemic, as well as the tepid recovery since the rig count began to climb in the fall of 2020. Even though there are all those big profits.
