LONDON, 19th February, 2024 -European and US oil and gas majors have made profits of more than a quarterof a trillion dollars since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to a new analysisby Global Witness marking two years since the conflict began.
After posting record gains in 2022 off the back of soaringenergy prices, the big five fossil fuel companies paid shareholders anunprecedented $111 billion in 2023. In the hottest year ever recorded, thisfigure is some 158 times what was pledged to vulnerable nations at last year’sCOP28 climate summit.
In total, Shell, BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergieshave paid $200 billion to shareholders since the invasion of Ukraine,funnelling cash to investors as more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians werekilled and millions of households across Europe struggled to keep the lightson.
Conflict is at the heart of this profit and cash handoutbonanza for the fossil fuel producers. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine madealready high wholesale gas prices skyrocket, driving historic gains for oil andgas producers. So much so, that 2022 saw US President Biden accuse the industryof “war profiteering” while UN Secretary-General Guterres warned that thecompanies “have humanity by the throat”.
UK-based Shell and BP have made £75 billion profit betweenthem while Ukraine has been mired in conflict. This would be enough to coverall of Britain’s household electricity bills for 17 consecutive months – allthe way until July 2025.
Shell last year walked back on a commitment to reduce oiloutput this decade while planning to fire some 200 staff from its green jobsdivision. BP meanwhile cut its emissions reduction pledge, at a time whengreenhouse gas emissions are at their highest in history.
Chevron and ExxonMobil have made $136 billion combinedprofit since Russia’s invasion. If Chevron’s $53-billion purchase of Hess andExxonMobil’s $60-billion takeover of Pioneer attains government approval, theircombined emissions will balloon by more than 20 percent, emitting more carbonannually than Brazil, Australia, and Spain combined.
And TotalEnergies’ €15 billion payout to shareholders wouldmore than cover the €10 billion in damages caused by French storms and droughtsin 2022 – storms made more likely by the very oil and gas Totalsells.
- Bigfive oil and gas firms have raked in total profits of more than $281billion since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, analysisshows.
- Anunprecedented $200 billion of this was paid to investors, missing aonce-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in green energy and jobs.
- UK-basedmajors Shell and BP’s profits during the war could cover the cost ofBritain’s household electricity bills until July 2025
Patrick Galey, senior fossilfuels investigator at Global Witness, said:
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been devastating formillions of people, from ordinary Ukrainians living under the shadow of war, tothe households across Europe struggling to heat their homes.
“This analysis shows that regardless of what happens onthe front lines, the fossil fuel majors are the main winners of the war inUkraine. They have amassed untold wealth off the back of death, destruction,and spiralling energy prices.
“They are now spending their gains on investor handoutsand ever more oil and gas production, which Europe doesn’t need and the climatecannot take. This is yet another way in which the fossil fuel industry isfailing customers and the planet.”
ENDS
Methodology
- Profitsand shareholder payouts were taken from company reporting from the periodbeginning Q2 of 2022 to the end of Q4 2023 inclusive
- Calculationson added emissions due to ExxonMobil and Chevron purchases were based onGlobal Witness analysis of Rystad Energy data
- Calculationsof domestic energy bills in Britain were based on the average householdbill as of January 2024 being £1,834 and ONS data showing 28.2 million households
This table displays the quarterly profits in billions of USD for each company and the total of all their profits combined since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
