AS SENATE MOVES ON CLEAN ENERGY LEGISLATION, EXXON & CHEVRON Q2 EARNINGS SHOW UNPRECEDENTED PROFITEERING, PLACING TARGET ON PA GOP ALLIES
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: August 2, 2022
CONTACT: Meghan Schneider, meghan@climatepower.us
Today, providing crucial context for the politics at play around the Inflation Reduction Act, BP and Marathon reported record Q2 profits – a 202% and 1,200% increase in profits, respectively, over the same period last year. The profits, which totaled $8.45 billion and $5.69 billion, were collected at a time when Pennsylvania families were paying skyrocketing gas and energy prices. Shell (11.5 bn), Chevron (11.4 bn), Hess (667 mm), and Exxon (17.6 bn) all released record profits last week, proving that the profiteering is across the board.
The new earnings report comes as the Senate is on the verge of passing a cost-saving plan that ramps up the production of American-made clean energy, lowers energy bills, and takes on climate change. It shows without a shadow of a doubt that Pennsylvanians struggled under the crushing weight of historic gas prices thanks to price-gouging oil companies:
- BP gouged consumers at the pump and shoveled the money to their wealthy shareholders. In Q2 alone, BP paid out $2.3 billion in stock buybacks and $1.06 billion in dividends, for a total of almost $9.3 billion on rewarding shareholders.
- Meanwhile, BP spent $2.17 million lobbying Congress thus far this year to help ensure they can continue to reap massive profits from consumers.
- Marathon gouged consumers at the pump and shoveled the money to their wealthy shareholders. In Q2 alone, Marathon spent a total of $5.87 billion on rewarding shareholders.
This profiteering is a major problem for Republicans, who have spent months attempting to pin the blame for high energy prices on Joe Biden while acting as mouthpieces for the fossil fuel industry.
Recipients include Pennsylvania Congressional Representative Glenn Thompson (PA-15), Dr. Oz, and Doug Mastriano. Thompson alone has received more than $560,000 in campaign contributions from the oil & gas industry and has falsely claimed that the dire predictions made by an overwhelming majority of scientists are “scare tactics” to sell “an agenda.” To appease his donors, Oz has gone so far as to claim carbon emissions aren’t an issue while Mastriano wrongly dismissed climate change as “pop science.” Mastriano has even been caught on record falsely calling the climate crisis “fake,” despite the overwhelming consensus among the scientific community.
None of these GOP leaders have offered any meaningful solutions to stop the price gouging or lower costs for Pennsylvania families. Pennsylvanians have noticed. Recent polling shows strong support for clean energy, and a majority of voters blame high energy prices on price gouging by fossil fuel companies.
It’s time to hold these fossil fuel-bought Republicans accountable for doing nothing to protect consumers or lower costs for families. Please let me know how I can be a resource to you as you’re covering this.