Oil majors face backlash as era of big profits returns

Nicolas Gubert, Agence France-Presse

PARIS, France — Soaring energy prices have brought massive profits to oil majors -- along with fierce criticism from environmentalists and politicians at a time when consumers are left with rising bills.US firm ExxonMobil, France&#x27;s TotalEnergies, and UK giants Shell and BP announced in the past week 2021 profits totalling a whopping $66.7 billion.It marked a huge turnaround from 2020, when they posted losses as the pandemic emerged, prompting lockdowns that brought the world economy to a grinding halt and caused crude prices to collapse.But oil and gas prices rallied big time last year, surging to $70 per barrel after briefly sinking into negative territory in 2020.The main international and US contracts rose to seven-year highs in January and now sit at around $90. Gas prices, meanwhile, hit records in Europe.&quot;Oil companies benefited from an extraordinary alignment of the planets,&quot; said Moez Ajmi, oil industry expert at EY consultancy.In addition to higher energy prices, energy firms &quot;cleaned up&quot; their assets to only keep the most profitable ones, Ajmi said.The companies also strengthened their cost-cutting policies which started in a previous price slump in 2014.A gradual increase in output by OPEC and its allies has also helped.ExxonMobil went from a $22.4 billion loss in 2020 to a $23 billion profit in 2021. Shell was $20.1 billion in the green last year after a $21.7 billion loss in 2020. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/02/03/22/shell-posts-20-b-annual-profit-on-oil-price-recovery">Shell posts $20 billion annual profit on oil price recovery</a></li></ul>TotalEnergies went from a historic $7.2 billion loss to a 15-year high profit of $16 billion.BP&#x27;s recovery was not as big, going from $20.3 billion in the red to $7.6 billion in the green.Prices at the pump and utility bills, meanwhile, have gone up for consumers.<div>&#x27;Slap in the face&#x27;</div>BP said the result would allow it to accelerate &quot;the greening&quot; of the company.But the performances at the companies triggered calls for a windfall tax on the profits of energy firms in the UK.&quot;These profits are a slap in the face to the millions of people dreading their next energy bill,&quot; Greenpeace UK&#x27;s head of climate Kate Blagojevic said in a statement.&quot;BP and Shell are raking in billions from the gas price crisis while enjoying one of the most favourable tax regimes in the world for offshore drillers,&quot; she said.&quot;And these are the same companies responsible for pushing our world closer to catastrophic climate change.&quot;Seeking to head off a political storm, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week a package of financial support after the state energy regulator lifted prices.The opposition Labour Party said it was not enough.Finance minister Rishi Sunak&#x27;s &quot;energy plans last week left families more worried than ever,&quot; tweeted Labour shadow minister Rachel Reeves after the oil companies published their results.&quot;It&#x27;s time for Labour&#x27;s plan for a one-off windfall tax on oil &amp; gas producers to cut bills.&quot;Sunak rejected the tax idea.<div>More profits</div>With a presidential election looming in France in April, Green candidate Yannick Jadot spoke out against profits made &quot;on the back of French men and women&quot; while &quot;gas and petrol bills rise for the benefit of shareholders&quot;.TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said that if the company paid more to governments, &quot;it would be at the expense of investments, workers or shareholders&quot;.But in apparent move to fend off criticism, TotalEnergies announced this week a discount at the pump in rural areas of France along with a 100-euro voucher for people struggling to pay their gas bills.Oil majors, however, could be in for another banner year for their bottom lines as analysts forecast prices climbing to $100 per barrel.&quot;The health crisis appears to be ending, the economic recoveries in China, the United States and Europe don&#x27;t appear to be flagging, supply continues to be limited due to a lack of oil investments in the past two years and environmental pressure,&quot; Ajmi said.&quot;So, yes, the profit rebound of the oil majors could continue in 2022.&quot;<div>FROM THE ARCHIVES</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4RrSvbeipjE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Soaring energy prices have brought massive profits to oil majors, along with fierce criticism from environmentalists and politicians at a time when consumers are left with rising bills.

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Oil majors face backlash as era of big profits returns

Oil majors face backlash as era of big profits returns

Nicolas Gubert,

Agence France-Presse

Published Feb 13, 2022 12:02 PM PHT

|

Updated Feb 13, 2022 12:30 PM PHT

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energy

oil

ExxonMobil

TotalEnergies

Shell

BP

environment

energy price

energy prices

oil price

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