Oil companies reach record profits amid Russia's war on Ukraine

Exxon gas price board
(Image credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Exxon Mobil and Chevron, two of the largest U.S. oil companies, reported hefty profits in the third quarter on Friday.

Exxon broke records this quarter by earning $19.66 billion, up 6 percent from the second quarter which broke records in its own right, Reuters reports. Chevron also showed better-than-average profits of $11.2 billion, which while slightly down from the second quarter, is nearly double from this time last year, reports The New York Times.

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Exxon said its high profits came from "strong volume performance, including record refining volumes, rigorous cost control, and higher natural gas realizations." Exxon also increased profits by pinning its hopes on future fossil fuel use by spending $5.7 billion on new oil and gas projects over the past quarter, according to The Guardian.

Oil companies have been facing demand from the Biden administration to increase production, however, they tend to be slow to comply opting to take the windfall profits, which come from an event or occurrence outside the company's control, CNN explains.

"The investments we've made, even through the pandemic, enabled us to increase production to address the needs of consumers," said Darren Woods, Exxon's chief executive.

Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.