Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-08-04 · by Andy Hirschfeld
United States President Donald Trump has lambasted the nation’s biggest oil and gas giants as Houston, Texas-based Chevron reported record earnings while consumers struggle with soaring petrol prices.
asserted
consumers → lambast → prices
“I don’t like it,” Trump told reporters on Monday in reference to the blockbuster second-quarter earnings, as his war on Iran has kept oil prices high for months.
asserted
war → like → months
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Capital One cites anti-money laundering concerns in Trump Organization case
- list 2 of 3Japan and US confirm rare joint intervention to prop up yen
- list 3 of 3Pentagon boosts Patriot, THAAD interceptor output amid stockpile strain
asserted
list → cite → strain
Trump’s comments came on the heels of an interview Chevron CEO Mike Wirth gave on the Fox News programme Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
asserted
Wirth → come → Bartiromo
Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president berated Wirth for not crediting his administration’s efforts to help the oil industry.
asserted
president → write → industry
“The only thing he [Wirth] conveniently forgot to mention is that, without the genius, foresight, strength, and stability of the TRUMP Administration, the Oil Industry, and our Country itself, would be DEAD!”
asserted
Wirth → forget → Administration
Chevron reported its highest quarterly profits in six years on Friday.
asserted
Chevron → report → Friday
Adjusted earnings per share came to $6.06, or $12bn, as tensions between the US and Iran strained global oil supply chains in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, where roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supply travelled through before the war, sending prices soaring.
asserted
prices → come → war
Chevron rewarded its employees.
asserted
Chevron → reward → employees
Wirth praised them for their work and said in an email that most workers would receive a bonus equivalent to half their monthly base pay, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an internal email.
asserted
agency → praise → email
Al Jazeera has not been able to independently confirm Reuters’ reporting.
asserted
Jazeera → confirm → reporting
Chevron’s strong earnings come as the company is less reliant on Middle Eastern production operations than its competitors, allowing it to reap the benefits of higher global oil prices during the quarter.
asserted
it → come → quarter
“Being less dependent on the Strait of Hormuz is definitely helping them.
asserted
Being → help → them
It’s also the refining they’re able to do here.
asserted
they → ’ → ?
The fact that Chevron has less than 5 percent exposure there gives it some protection,” Bill Drolet, executive director, mergers & acquisitions at The Post Oak Group investment bank, told Al Jazeera.
asserted
Drolet → give → Jazeera
“More than 70 percent of Chevron’s production is concentrated in America, and that’s where it’s making its biggest margins right now.”
asserted
it → concentrate → margins
Chevron also benefitted from the president’s move to open up oil production in Venezuela after US special forces abducted the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, in January.
asserted
forces → benefit → January
Chevron had stayed on in the South American nation even after former President Hugo Chavez nationalised oil production.
asserted
Chavez → stay → production
Chevron did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
asserted
Chevron → respond → comment
Competitors also performed well.
asserted
Competitors → perform → ?
ExxonMobil on Friday posted its best quarterly profits in four years, but they fell short of analysts’ expectations.
asserted
they → post → expectations
Earnings raked in $9.2bn.
asserted
Earnings → rake → 9.2bn
Exxon did not respond to a request for comment.
asserted
Exxon → respond → comment
On Thursday, Valero Energy reported its highest ever second-quarter profit, with net income coming in at $3.7bn as US refiners reap the benefits of tensions choking oil production across the Middle East.
asserted
refiners → report → East
But those benefits have not reached consumers, who are feeling the strain at the petrol pump.
asserted
who → reach → pump
The average price for a gallon of petrol is $4.09, down from $4.11 this time last week, but up from $3.82 a month ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily petrol prices.
uncertain
which → accord → prices
By comparison, when the US and Israel first struck Iran in late February, the average price was $2.98.
asserted
price → strike → February
An analysis from Bank of America published in April showed consumers spending as much as 4.2 percent of their income on petrol in March, up from 3.9 percent in 2019.
asserted
consumers → publish → 2019
Lower-income earners are hit much harder, with more than 10 percent of households spending more than 10 percent of their monthly income on petrol.
asserted
percent → hit → petrol
This comes as pressure on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve continues.
asserted
pressure → come → Reserve
The reserves hit their lowest level since 1983 this week, according to the Department of Energy.
uncertain
reserves → hit → Energy
They fell by 2.8 million barrels over the week to 304.8 million barrels.
asserted
They → fall → barrels
Political pushback
The condemnation of the oil industry has come from across the political spectrum.
asserted
condemnation → come → spectrum
“A decent industry would say, ‘this was money we didn’t earn, it’s a windfall we get from our cartel pricing scheme.’
asserted
we → say → scheme
Not these corrupt, greedy and grasping rogues,” Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island wrote in a post on X on Sunday.
asserted
Whitehouse → write → Sunday
But lowering prices might not be as easy.
uncertain
lowering → lower → prices
Beyond pressure from consumers, companies across the corporate United States are beholden to a concept called shareholder supremacy.
asserted
companies → call → concept
This means that while lowering prices might be in the best interest of pinched consumers, it may not be possible given the legal framework and companies’ fiduciary responsibility to shareholders.
uncertain
it → mean → shareholders
“They’ve [oil companies] got shareholders they’re responsible for.
asserted
they → [ → shareholders
They could reduce share buybacks or dividend payouts, but right now, I don’t see oil companies doing much,” Post Oak Group’s Drolet said.
uncertain
Drolet → reduce → much
…and 10 more, not listed.
