Q3 Oil And Gas Profits Explained

Oil and gas companies posted (more!) record high earnings this quarter. Total adjusted earnings of the 20 largest oil companies in the U.S. were $62.672 billion this quarter, bringing total year to date profits to a massive $261 billion. 

  • Oil and gas companies pushed gas prices 44% higher, driving their profits 151.6% higher than third quarter earnings in 2021. 
  • Big Oil’s price bonanza isn’t ending anytime soon, with winter heating prices expected to be 28% higher for American households than last year. 

And who benefits from this massive increase in prices and profits? Big oil companies, working to enrich their CEOs and stakeholders instead of lowering costs for Americans at the pump. 

Excess profits aren’t being invested to increase production, a move which would eventually lower prices. The only priority for oil and gas CEOs is growing their dividends and expanding share buybacks; Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Chesapeake Energy, Marathon Petroleum, Marathon Oil Corp., Phillips 66, and APA Corp. all announced increased dividends or increased stock buybacks for the fourth quarter, clearly illustrating their commitment to shareholder value above all else. One thing oil and gas CEOs are investing in is greenwashing. 

  • A study of five major international oil and gas companies – BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies – found they spent just 12% of their capital expenditure budgets on low-carbon or renewable investments last year, despite 60% of their messaging containing claims the company was going green. These greenwashing companies made over $57 billion last quarter. 

Despite a focus on green messaging in public, oil and gas companies aren’t politically putting their money where their mouth is either. 

  • The industry spent over $90 million on lobbying so far this year, trying to convince Congress to lift restrictions on fossil fuel development and weaken methane leak regulations. 
  • Beyond directly lobbying, the industry spent $24 million working to elect their Republican allies to Congress. 
  • Over 80% of that money went toward Republican candidates who campaigned on increasing domestic oil and gas production. 

Big Oil is putting profit above planetary survival. The industry and its products are one of the largest drivers of climate change, which is fueling extreme weather events globally. 

  • At the same time, Big Oil companies’ profits this quarter were 8.7 times higher than the cost of extreme weather events over the same time period. 
  • The profits are enough to cover 90% of estimated damage from Hurricane Ian. 
  • Globally, profits from the six largest oil companies so far this year are enough to offset the cost of climate-intensified extreme weather events over the same period, with some left over. 

Let’s be clear: Big Oil is profiting off planetary destruction and padding billionaire executives’ bottom lines while the fuels they sell drive extreme weather globally. 

 

Table 1: Year-To-Date Profits Of Major Oil Companies

Amounts in millions. Hyperlinks go to earnings announcement filings.

Company Q1 2022 Adjusted Non-GAAP Earnings Q2 2022 Adjusted Non-GAAP Earnings Q3 2022 Adjusted Non-GAAP Earnings Year-To-Date Adjusted Non-GAAP Earnings
APA Corp $ 668 $ 811 $ 651 $ 2,130
Cheniere Energy Inc $ 3,153 $ 2,529 $ 2,782 $ 8,464
Chesapeake Energy $ 436 $ 729 $ 730 $ 1,895
Chevron $ 6,543 $ 11,365 $ 10,784 $ 28,692
ConocoPhillips $ 4,289 $ 5,086 $ 4,590 $ 13,965
Coterra Energy Inc $ 818 $ 1,083 $ 1,126 $ 3,027
Diamondback Energy Inc $ 929 $ 1,309 $ 1,142 $ 3,380
Devon Energy $ 1,255 $ 1,707 $ 1,429 $ 4,391
EOG Resources $ 2,346 $ 1,614 $ 2,179 $ 6,139
EQT Corporation $ 334 $ 340 $ 522 $ 1,196
ExxonMobil $ 8,833 $ 17,551 $ 19,660 $ 46,044
Halliburton $ 314 $ 442 $ 544 $ 1,300
Hess $ 404 $ 667 $ 583 $ 1,654
Marathon Oil Corp $ 749 $ 934 $ 832 $ 2,515
Marathon Petroleum $ 2,639 $ 5,687 $ 3,857 $ 12,183
Murphy Oil $ 361 $ 647 $ 637 $ 1,645
Occidental Petroleum $ 2,127 $ 3,240 $ 2,465 $ 7,832
Ovintiv Inc $ 559 $ 629 $ 369 $ 1,557
Phillips 66 $ 595 $ 3,285 $ 3,122 $ 7,002
Pioneer Natural Resources $ 1,982 $ 2,401 $ 1,872 $ 6,255
Valero Energy $ 944 $ 4,609 $ 2,796 $ 8,349
BP $ 6,245 $ 8,451 $ 8,150 $ 22,846
Enbridge $ 1,705 $ 1,350 $ 1,366 $ 4,421
Equinor $ 17,991 $ 17,590 $ 24,301 $ 59,882
Shell $ 9,130 $ 11,472 $ 9,454 $ 30,056
TC Energy $ 1,103 $ 979 $ 1,068 $ 3,150
TechnipFMC $ (13) $ 8 $ 13 $ 8
TotalEnergies SE $ 17,424 $ 9,796 $ 9,863 $ 37,083
Totals $ 93,863 $ 116,311 $ 116,887 $ 327,061

 

Table 2: Year-To-Date Dividend Spending Of Major Oil Companies

Amounts in millions. Hyperlinks go to quarterly reports

Company Q1 2022 Dividend Spending Q2 2022 Dividend Spending Q3 2022 Dividend Spending Year-To-Date Dividend Spending
APA Corp $ 43 $ 43 $ 41 $ 127
Cheniere Energy Inc $ 86 $ 565 $ 251 $ 902
Chesapeake Energy $ 210 $ 298 $ 280 $ 788
Chevron $ 2,700 $ 2,800 $ 2,700 $ 8,200
ConocoPhillips $ 864 $ 988 $ 1,484 $ 3,336
Coterra Energy Inc $ 456 $ 484 $ 519 $ 1,459
Diamondback Energy Inc $ 107 $ 541 $ 526 $ 1,174
Devon Energy $ 667 $ 830 $ 1,007 $ 2,504
EOG Resources $ 1,023 $ 1,486 $ 1,312 $ 3,821
EQT Corporation $ 47 $ 93 $ 149 $ 289
ExxonMobil $ 3,760 $ 3,727 $ 3,685 $ 11,172
Halliburton $ 108 $ 217 $ 327 $ 652
Hess $ 119 $ 116 $ 115 $ 350
Marathon Oil Corp $ 52 $ 56 $ 106 $ 214
Marathon Petroleum $ 330 $ 643 $ 285 $ 1,258
Murphy Oil $ 23 $ 27 $ 39 $ 89
Occidental Petroleum $ 216 $ 323 $ 324 $ 863
Ovintiv Inc $ 52 $ – $ 62 $ 114
Phillips 66 $ 404 $ 467 $ 1,337 $ 2,208
Pioneer Natural Resources $ 1,073 $ 1,788 $ 2,052 $ 4,913
Valero Energy $ 401 $ 800 $ 1,186 $ 2,387
BP $ 1,068 $ 1,062 $ 1,140 $ 3,270
Enbridge $ 1,742 $ 1,743 $ 1,741 $ 5,226
Equinor $ 582 $ 1,310 $ 1,256 $ 3,148
Shell $ 1,950 $ 1,851 $ 1,818 $ 5,619
TC Energy $ 853 $ 885 $ 885 $ 2,623
TechnipFMC $ – $ – $ – $ –
TotalEnergies SE $ 1,928 $ 1,825 $ 5,630 $ 9,383
Totals $ 20,864 $ 24,968 $ 30,257 $ 76,089

 

Table 3: Year-To-Date Stock Buyback Spending Of Major Oil Companies

Amounts in millions. Hyperlinks go to quarterly reports

Company Q1 Stock Buyback Spending Q2 Stock Buyback Spending Q3 Stock Buyback Spending Year-To-Date Stock Buyback Spending
APA Corp $ 261 $ 291 $ 332 $ 884
Cheniere Energy Inc $ 25 $ 170 $ 640 $ 835
Chesapeake Energy $ 83 $ 475 $ 109 $ 667
Chevron $ 1,300 $ 2,500 $ 3,800 $ 7,600
ConocoPhillips $ 1,425 $ 2,300 $ 2,799 $ 6,524
Coterra Energy Inc $ 184 $ 303 $ 253 $ 740
Diamondback Energy Inc $ 7 $ 303 $ 472 $ 782
Devon Energy $ 211 $ 324 $ 126 $ 661
EOG Resources $ 43 $ 15 $ 37 $ 95
EQT Corporation $ 216 $ 216 $ 270 $ 703
ExxonMobil $ 2,067 $ 3,919 $ 4,494 $ 10,480
Halliburton $ – $ – $ – $ –
Hess $ – $ 190 $ 150 $ 340
Marathon Oil Corp $ 592 $ 760 $ 1,714 $ 3,066
Marathon Petroleum $ 2,846 $ 6,177 $ 3,908 $ 12,931
Murphy Oil $ – $ – $ – $ –
Occidental Petroleum $ 36 $ 532 $ 1,899 $ 2,467
Ovintiv Inc $ 71 $ 135 $ 325 $ 531
Phillips 66 $ – $ 66 $ 760 $ 826
Pioneer Natural Resources $ 276 $ 499 $ 511 $ 1,286
Valero Energy $ 144 $ 1,892 $ 2,769 $ 4,805
BP $ 1,592 $ 2,288 $ 2,876 $ 6,756
Enbridge $ 50 $ 101 $ – $ 151
Equinor $ 439 $ 304 $ 1,996 $ 2,739
Shell $ 3,472 $ 5,541 $ 4,950 $ 13,963
TC Energy $ – $ 1,000 $ – $ 1,000
TechnipFMC $ – $ – $ 50 $ 50
TotalEnergies SE $ – $ 1,988 $ 5,160 $ 7,148
Totals $ 15,340 $ 32,289 $ 40,400 $ 88,030