Montana'eer
Well-Known Member
I'll look at it. One of the sources I read was this-If you look at what I attached in my post above their net margin (gross margin - operating expenses) they are not making any unusual profits. In fact in 2013 their profits were higher. Also look at 2020 and 2021 profits. Over that two year period their net income was almost zero. Bottom line companies don't exist without profit unless they are propped up by the government.
Exxon, Chevron, Shell Report Record Profits on High Energy Prices
Exxon, Chevron and Shell banked a record $46 billion in collective profits in the second quarter.
www.wsj.com
Exxon XOM 1.83%▲ Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. CVX 1.49%▲ and Shell PLC, SHEL 1.58%▲ the three largest Western oil companies, banked a record $46 billion in collective profits in the second quarter, fueled by the highest energy prices in over a decade and lucrative oil-refining margins.
The historic profits come as companies reap the benefits of record fuel-making margins following the shutdown of 3 million barrels a day of global refining capacity since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods said while refining margins have moderated recently, it's a situation that could take years to fix until additional capacity comes online.
"Demand recovers, and we don't have the capacity to meet that, which has led to record, record refining margins," Mr. Woods said. "This will be a few-year price environment."
On Thursday, Shell reported its second consecutive record quarterly profit, hitting $16.7 billion in profit on a net current-cost-of-supplies basis, a figure similar to net income that U.S. oil companies report.
And this-
Chevron CEO says there may never be another oil refinery built in the US
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth says he doubts a new oil refinery will ever be built in the U.S. again, given the federal government's policies.
www.foxbusiness.com
"Capacity is added by de-bottlenecking existing units by investing in existing refineries," he explained. "But what we've seen over the last two years are shutdowns. We've seen refineries closed. We've seen units come down. We've seen refineries being repurposed to become bio refineries. And we live in a world where the policy, the stated policy of the U.S. government is to reduce demand for the products that refiners produce."
"At every level of the system, the policy of our government is to reduce demand, and so it's very hard in a business where investments have a payout period of a decade or more," Wirth said. "And the stated policy of the government for a long time has been to reduce demand for your products."
To put things in perspective, Wirth asked rhetorically, "How do you go to your board, how do you go to your shareholders and say 'we're going to spend billions of dollars on new capacity in a market that is, you know, the policy is taking you in the other direction."
Chevron CEO's statement is (without outright saying it)- why build more capacity for a product that is going to lose market share- i.e. EV's.
Last edited: