Trump's Gas Price Conundrum: Record Profits for Big Oil Amid High Pump Prices
US oil majors Exxon and Chevron reported massive profits in the second quarter of this year, despite gasoline prices remaining high. The companies earned a combined $26.5 billion in net income, with Chevron reporting a record $12.2 billion profit and Exxon earning $14.5 billion, roughly double its year-earlier result.
The windfall comes as the Iran war has disrupted global energy supplies, pushing up crude prices and tightening refineries' ability to produce gasoline and diesel. This has led to widespread anger among American drivers, who see high pump prices despite the drop in oil prices from wartime highs.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded lower gasoline prices, even calling for a target of $2.25 per gallon. However, this benchmark is misleading, as it was associated with an extraordinary collapse in energy demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, not a normal, healthy oil market.