Shell and ConocoPhillips Report $6.2 and $2.6 Billion in Profits Respectively, Ripping Off America’s Working Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Shell and ConocoPhillips reported billions in Q3 profits. Shell reported $6.2 billion in profits, with $2.2 billion spent on dividends and $2.7 billion on stock buybacks. ConocoPhillips reported $2.6 billion in profits, and spent $1.3 billion on dividends and $1.3 billion on stock buybacks.

These profits come just a week after Shell announced that they will be laying off 200 workers from their low-carbon solutions unit, indicating its continuing commitment to fossil fuels. The majority of Americans cite climate change as a kitchen table issue, but Republicans and Big Oil continue to put profits over people. As oil profits roll in, corporations have made clear that they oppose America’s clean energy economy, and the industry’s Republican allies keep trying to  repeal President Biden’s climate plan to halt America’s clean energy boom. 

“These layoffs at Shell are indicative of an industry-wide shift away from even the meager investments they’ve made in clean energy. Alongside Exxon and Chevron’s mergers with Pioneer and Hess, all evidence points to the industry doubling down on fossil fuels over clean energy sources,” said Climate Power’s senior advisor for oil and gas, Alex Witt. “Republican allies of the industry are interested in continued reliance on oil and gas. The GOP has already voted to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act 25 times — something that would  directly benefit fossil fuel companies and undo America’s clean energy progress.”

“Big Oil companies like Shell and ConocoPhillips are making their billions on the backs of our communities,” said Sharon Lavigne of Rise St. James, an environmental justice group in Louisiana’s cancer alley. “Here in St. James Parish — and all over Louisiana — they’re polluting our air, land and water while making the climate crisis worse. Rather than investing in a clean and healthy environment where we can thrive, they’re doubling down on the destruction of our communities and the climate.”

New polling shows that by a large margin, voters reject the “drill, baby, drill” rhetoric that Donald Trump and other Republicans have been deploying on the campaign trail in favor of strengthening our energy independence by building clean energy that can power homes, businesses, and schools while lowering costs for American families. 

President Biden’s climate plan is moving the U.S. away from reliance on profiteering oil and gas companies. In the year since the clean energy plan became law, businesses have announced 211,350 new clean energy jobs in 45 states and Puerto Rico, totaling $310 billion in new investments for local economies, with more announced every day.