Big Oil exploits crises to rake in record profits.
Big Oil companies are taking advantage of an unstable market caused by the war in Ukraine to keep prices high. In fact, the world’s largest oil companies have made $281 billion in profits since the invasion of Ukraine.
For Big Oil, “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” Oil companies used COVID-19 and the subsequent inflationary period crises to drive up gas prices and starch margins while millions of Americans died and wrestled with economic uncertainty. New research shows that markups—the difference between the selling price of a good and what it costs to make—have risen substantially on petroleum products since 2020.
Big Oil’s only focus is maximizing profits—no matter the cost to consumers.
Big Oil has engages in strategies like stock buybacks and paying dividends, which primarily benefit executives and wealthy shareholders.
Oil companies are bringing in record profits and intentionally using those gains to pad executive salaries instead of decreasing markups. ExxonMobil’s CEO saw a 52% increase in total compensation in 2022, while median employee compensation decreased—highlighting a clear prioritization of executive over consumer and worker welfare.
Big Oil’s strategy is clear: boost oil-friendly politicians while ignoring public calls for accountability.
Trump invited oil executives to his home in Mar-a-Lago to strike a deal: $1 billion in campaign contributions in exchange for a reversal of President Biden’s environmental regulations.
As it stands, American taxpayers are slated to absorb nearly $150 billion in oil and gas subsidies written into our tax code. The End Polluter Welfare Act, which has been reintroduced, aims to end that absurd corporate handout.
Recent polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans, across party lines, blame major oil companies for higher gas prices and support cracking down on those that engage in price gouging or have lied about the polluting impact of burning fossil fuels.
More US oil and gas production won’t lower prices – it will just keep us hooked on dirty fossil fuels
U.S. oil and gas production has grown exponentially over the last decade, and the oil and gas industry has gotten more public land to drill on under Biden than under Trump – but we’re in the same situation. Gas prices are high, Big Oil is making record profits, and the rest of us are paying the price.
Big Oil already has millions of miles of pipeline and millions of acres of public land they can drill. In fact, they’re sitting on tens of thousands of unused oil and gas leases right now.
Giving Big Oil access to more public lands won’t do anything to lower the prices we’re currently seeing at the pump and on our home heating bills.
New fossil fuel infrastructure takes years to build, so that won’t do anything to lower prices, it’ll just keep us dependent on expensive fossil fuels and further wreck our climate while enriching the same few fossil fuel executives.
The movement to hold Big Oil accountable is picking up momentum.
- Vermont recently passed a Climate Superfund bill that will make oil companies in the state cover the costs of climate disasters for the last 20 years.
- California’s Polluters Pay Climate Recovery Act—which will make fossil fuel companies pay into a state-administered fund—would make Big Oil foot the bill for past disasters and future mitigation and adaptation measures.
- Other states and municipalities, including New York state and the city of Chicago—are moving forward with legislation and legal action respectively to make polluters pay for their wrongdoing.