Exxon Mobil generated a record net profit of $56.1 billion dollars in 2022 which is significantly more than its previous record profit which goes back to 2008 when it ran over a $45.2 billion net profit.
The oil giants are expected to break their own annual records due to high prices and rising demand, bringing their combined profits close to $200 billion dollars.
Not coincidentally, 2008, like 2022,was a crisis year where crude oil prices had risen to $142 a barrel, demand was high and supply was low. The petroleum giants are clearly not bothered by this. They make record profits in times of crisis so we do have to wonder if the narrative that is fed to the public is accurate. With alleged petroleum shortages, how is it possible that Exxon was able to realise a net profit of $56.1 billion in 2022, or $6.3 million an hour ?
Profit is the result of revenue generated from sales minus costs. Realising a giga profit is only possible if intrinsic costs remain the same or increase only slightly and the selling price increases combined with an upscaling of the sales.
One possible explanation is that Exxon has huge stocks of petroleum that it bought at very democratic prices when the price per barrel was low and resold or processed at the new price per barrel in 2022 with usurious profits.
Other possibility is that the narrative is wrong, that there have been no shortages and the price has been artificially driven up. In any case, Russia's Gasprom sold not less but a lot more oil in 2022 than in previous years. Up to 31 million barrels a day. The same goes for Exxon, which according to Refinitiv data increased its production by about 100,000 barrels of oil and gas per day compared to 2021, up to 3.8 million barrels per day.
A good listener has long understood that there are no shortages and prices have been artificially driven up.
The record profits are not enough for Exxon. It complains that its profit during the fourth quarter of 2022 was $1.3 billion less than previous quarters due to an unexpected European Union tax that began in the last quarter and asset impairments. The company is suing the EU, arguing that the tax exceeds its legal authority.
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