US President Joe Biden on Friday (10/6) criticized ExxonMobil because it doesn’t want to produce more oil. He conveyed criticism related to soaring prices gas lately.
The reason is, the spike in gas prices has drained America’s wallet and its popularity ahead of his government’s midterm elections.
“(In fact) Exxon could make more money than God gave us this year,” he said.
Biden asked Exxon to change its policy by boosting oil production. ExxonMobil reported big gains in the first three months of the year despite lower oil and natural gas volumes.
The surge in profits occurred due to the increase in crude oil prices that occurred due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But, amid the surge in profits, Exxon, which has 9,000 drilling permits, put the brakes on their activities.
“Why don’t they drill? Because they make more money by not producing more oil?” Biden said.
After 2020 and the COVID-19 lockdown that crushed demand for petroleum, oil companies returned to profitability in 2021 and have continued to see revenues skyrocket this year.
ExxonMobil’s first-quarter profit more than doubled to $5.5 billion, and revenue rose 52.4 percent to $87.7 billion.
The oil giant also increased spending on share buybacks by $20 billion.
Biden, whose popularity has plummeted, is in serious trouble. Problems related to the highest inflation in four decades and sky-high gas prices.
Government data released Friday showed the consumer price index jumped 8.6 percent compared to May 2021, up from 8.3 percent in the 12 months ended April and surpassing what most economists said was a peak in March.
(afp/agt)
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