Oil Giants ExxonMobil and Chevron Print Billions Amid War-Driven Price Surge
Oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron are making unprecedented profits due to soaring global oil prices. The US-Iran war has driven up oil prices, which have surged over 40% this year. According to Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, these companies are 'printing money' because of the spike in oil prices.
ExxonMobil reported a profit of $14.5 billion for the second quarter, more than doubling its earnings from the same period last year. Chevron posted a profit of $12.1 billion, quadrupling its previous year's earnings. Exxon made around $160 million per day in the quarter.
The companies' refineries are also benefiting from the high oil prices. Lipow estimates that the world has lost 6-7 million barrels of refining capacity per day due to the war, making existing refineries more profitable. Chevron's downstream business swung from a loss of $817 million last year to a profit of $4.9 billion.
Shell also reported nearly $10 billion in profits for the quarter, more than doubling its previous year's earnings and its second-highest quarterly profit in company history. However, oil prices are notoriously boom-to-bust, and when prices are low, small oil drillers often go bankrupt and industry leaders lose money.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods said that last quarter was 'shaped by disruption, but defined by execution.' Chevron is responding to high oil prices by ramping up supply. The company reported record US production and a 20% increase in worldwide production year-over-year.