November 1, 2022
Third quarter profits are in for all the major oil companies.
Do you want to know how much they made in just three months? (July 1 to September 30) before i tell you the actual numbers, there are two things to understand.
Yes, oil companies lost a lot of money during the pandemic when demand plummeted forcing some companies out of business. But between 2021 and 2022, these oil company profits on average have increased significantly.
Brace yourself. In the third quarter corporate profits for
BP: $8.2 billion (2nd quarter $8.5 billion, last year $3.3 billion)
Shell: $9.45 billion (2nd quarter $11.5 billion, last year $4.1 billion)
Exxon: $19.7 billion (2nd quarter $17.9 billion, last year $6.8 billion)
Chevron: $11.2 billion (2nd quarter $11.6 billion, last year $6.1 billion
Let me stress. This is just for the time between July 1st to September 30th.
All that money has started the talk again of implementing a “windfall tax.” The President has said repeatedly these companies are keeping prices high and shouldn’t be allowed to do that with inflation the way it is and Russia destabilizing the oil market. He says the oil companies should be taking that profit and investing it back into increasing production and refining capacity. But there is plenty of push back from other lawmakers, economists and obviously the oil industry who say if the us government passes a “windfall tax” on oil profits, the oil company will further reduce its production and investment. At this point it’s unlikely a windfall tax would happen because congress isn’t back in session until mid-November.
3rd Quarter profits from BP here.
3rd Quarter profits for Shell here.
3rd Quarter profits for Chevron here.
3rd Quarter profits for Exxon here.
