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.
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war → like → months
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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.
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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.
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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!”
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Wirth → forget → Administration
Chevron reported its highest quarterly profits in six years on Friday.
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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.
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prices → come → war
Chevron rewarded its employees.
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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.
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agency → praise → email
Al Jazeera has not been able to independently confirm Reuters’ reporting.
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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.
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it → come → quarter
“Being less dependent on the Strait of Hormuz is definitely helping them.
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Being → help → them
It’s also the refining they’re able to do here.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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forces → benefit → January
Chevron had stayed on in the South American nation even after former President Hugo Chavez nationalised oil production.
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Chavez → stay → production
Chevron did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
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Chevron → respond → comment
Competitors also performed well.
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Competitors → perform → ?
ExxonMobil on Friday posted its best quarterly profits in four years, but they fell short of analysts’ expectations.
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they → post → expectations
Earnings raked in $9.2bn.
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Earnings → rake → 9.2bn
Exxon did not respond to a request for comment.
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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.
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refiners → report → East
But those benefits have not reached consumers, who are feeling the strain at the petrol pump.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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percent → hit → petrol
This comes as pressure on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve continues.
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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.
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They → fall → barrels
Political pushback
The condemnation of the oil industry has come from across the political spectrum.
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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.’
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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.
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Whitehouse → write → Sunday
But lowering prices might not be as easy.
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lowering → lower → prices
Beyond pressure from consumers, companies across the corporate United States are beholden to a concept called shareholder supremacy.
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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.
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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.
The Aporia
