Oil and Gas Companies Rake in $85.2 Billion in Q2 Profits While American Families Pay the Price
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27 companies raked in $85.2 billion in Q2, a 142% increase in profits since last year
The average national price of gas is $4.01, higher than its ever been this late in the summer
Washington, DC – More than 20 oil and gas companies have finished reporting their Q2 profits, raking in a total of $85.2 billion — or $39 million per hour during Q2 – as American families are forced to choose between filling up their tanks and keeping the lights on. After insisting he doesn’t think about Americans’ financial situation, Trump is suddenly pretending to care about skyrocketing prices at the pump, criticizing Exxon and Chevron for “making too much money.” Trump’s record of cozying up to Big Oil, including the millions of dollars in Exxon and Chevron stock that he has owned, reveals that his fake outrage is nothing more than a PR stunt. While Big Oil makes billions off Trump’s war, Trump has spent $4 billion in taxpayer dollars to cancel wind projects, taking energy options off the grid as demand skyrockets and leaving Americans more dependent on volatile foreign oil.
Republicans in Congress rubber-stamped Trump’s cost-raising agenda, voting to take a sledgehammer to American-made clean energy projects that would have lowered energy costs while asking for $95 billion more to fund Trump’s reckless war of choice. A recent Climate Power and Center for American Progress Action Fund report found that Trump and congressional Republican policies have cost American families $2,000 through the first half of the year, including $285 in higher gas prices alone.
Former Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued the following statement: “These profit numbers are just more proof that Trump only cares about getting rich. He has owned stock in these oil and gas companies that are raking in profits from his war of choice in Iran. Meanwhile, families are struggling to stay afloat. Trump keeps gaslighting the American people with promises of bringing down costs and investigating oil companies for potential price-gouging. But the ongoing war in Iran and his blockade of cheaper clean energy prove that he’s working for Big Oil, not America’s families.”
Oil and gas companies are making billions while working families foot the bill with higher prices on everything from gasoline to groceries:
- 27 companies raked in more than $40 billion in profit in Q1.
- Chevron made $12 billion in profits in Q2, up nearly 300% since last year, while Exxon brought in $14.7 billion, doubling their profits since last year and raking in $160 million per day in the last quarter.
- Six companies more than quadrupled their profits, including Marathon Petroleum, which saw its profits increase by 955% from the first quarter, and Phillips 66, which saw its profits increase by 1,794% from the first quarter.
- Shell announced their best quarterly profits in four years – almost $10 billion, up 131% since last year.
- Combined, Exxon, Shell and Chevron made $404 million in profits every day for the last three months.
- According to a CBS News poll, 51% of Americans said gas prices are posing a financial hardship or financial difficulty.
- The oil and gas industry spent $450 million to influence Trump and congressional Republicans, including more than $75 million to elect Trump.
- Donald Trump and congressional Republicans started this energy crisis with their attacks on clean energy projects, and accelerated it with their war of choice in Iran. Trump and Republicans in Congress canceled enough projects to power the equivalent of 20 million homes.