The nation’s biggest oil companies — ExxonMobil and Chevron — saw their profits roughly triple in the second-quarter.
On Friday, Exxon reported net income of $17.9 billion for the three months ended June 31 compared with $4.7 billion in the year ago period.
Chevron, meanwhile, earned $11.6 billion, versus $3.1 billion in 2021. Sales hit $64 billion, up 80% from a year ago.
Exxon and Chevron shares have soared 51% and 36%, respectively.
Oil companies are pumping more to meet demand, with Exxon increasing its oil and gas production in the Permian Basin by 130,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day compared with the first half of 2021. But the market for crude oil still suffers a drastic imbalance in supply and demand, and industry insiders say it will take years to bring new supply online.
“If you look at what it takes to bring on new investments to grow supply in the oil industry, it is a fairly long-cycle investment … three to five years is a reasonable time frame to think about bringing significant additional production into the mix,” Exxon chief executive Darren Woods said on CNBC Friday.
Alongside the production increases, oil giants are also sending billions of dollars to Wall Street through share buybacks and dividends. Exxon reported that it distributed $7.6 billion to shareholders, including dividends, while Shell announced $6 billion in share buybacks designed to boost its stock price.
President Biden, facing criticism from the right over his handling of inflation and the economy, called out Exxon for making “more money than God” in a June address, while imploring it and Chevron to redouble their efforts to get more oil supply on the market.