ExxonMobil, America’s Largest Oil Company, ‘Made More Money Than God,’ Said Biden, Who Threatens Oil Companies Over Record Gas Prices and Blames Putin for 41-Year High Inflation

ExxonMobil’s First Quarter Profits More Than Doubled, To US$ 5.5 Billion, And Revenues Increased 52.4%, To US$ 87.7 Billion.

ExxonMobil, the largest oil company in the U.S., reported massive profits in the first three months of the year, despite lower volumes of oil and natural gas, as crude oil prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We’re going to make sure everyone knows Exxon’s profits,” Biden said on June 10, in the White House meeting room. “Exxon made more money than God this year,” he added.

“One thing I want to say about oil companies, they talk about how we have, they have 9,000 permits to drill. They’re not drilling. Why aren’t they drilling? Because they make more money by not producing more oil,” Biden said in the statement.

“The price goes up, number one. And, number two, the reason they’re not drilling is that they’re buying back their own stock – which should be taxed, frankly – buying back their own stock and not making new investments. So, I always thought that Republicans are for investment. Exxon, start investing, start paying your taxes,” Biden said.

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“The price at the pump that Americans are currently paying is a function of increased demand and delayed supply combined with the geopolitical turbulence resulting from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” he added.

Putin Is ‘Responsible’ For 41-Year Record Inflation

In response to the U.S. president’s comments, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil said: “We have been in regular contact with the administration, informing them of our planned investments to increase production and expand refining capacity in the United States.”

“We increased production in the Permian Basin by 70%, or 190,000 barrels per day, between 2019 and 2021. We expect to increase Permian production by another 25% this year. We are spending 50% more on capital expenditures in the Permian in 2022 vs. 2021 and we are increasing our refining capacity to process U.S. light crude oil by about 250,000 barrels per day – equivalent to adding a new mid-sized refinery.”

“We reported losses of more than US$ 20 billion in 2020 and borrowed over US$ 30 billion in 2019 and 2020 to support our production investments worldwide. In 2021, total taxes on the company’s earnings were US$ 40.6 billion, an increase of US$ 17.8 billion compared to 2020.”

“Legislators should focus on rational policies that increase U.S. supply to help mitigate the situation, rather than political grandstanding that does nothing but discourage investment at a time when it is most needed,” said API Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics, and Regulatory Affairs, Frank Macchiarola.

Oil Companies Returned to Profitability in 2021 And Continue to See Earnings Soar This Year.

After a terrible 2020, amid COVID-19 lockdowns that devastated oil demand, oil companies returned to profitability in 2021 and continue to see earnings soar this year.

ExxonMobil’s first quarter profits more than doubled to US$ 5.5 billion, and revenues increased 52.4%, to US$ 87.7 billion.

“The quarter illustrated the strength of our underlying business and the significant progress in developing our competitively advantaged production portfolio,” said Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, in a company statement in April.

Oil prices remained mostly above US$ 100 a barrel after spiking to around US$ 130 in early March, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. American drivers are facing new record gas prices daily, with the U.S. national average hitting US$ 4.99 a gallon last Friday.