Exxon profits tripled.

The largest US oil company’s results were echoed at rival Chevron, whose bumper third-quarter profit of $11.2bn was just shy of record earnings reported in its previous quarter, continuing a run of solid industry earnings on elevated oil and gas prices. The results will cheer investors but keep the sector in the crosshairs of US politicians, including President Joe Biden. They have blamed oil companies for energy costs that have fanned decades-high inflation. Darren Woods, Exxon’s chief executive, pushed back against Democratic lawmakers’ calls to impose a windfall tax on profits. «There has been discussion in the US about our industry returning some of our profits directly to the American people.

That’s precisely what we’re doing in the form of our quarterly dividend,» he said on a call with analysts. Woods said policymakers should instead focus on raising supply and cutting demand to help bring prices down. Earnings in its oil and gas production business were $12.4bn in the third quarter, up from $4bn a year earlier, on higher prices and a slight gain in output from 3.67mn barrels of oil equivalent a day to 3.72mn boe/d. Kathy Mikells, Exxon’s chief financial officer, said the company had invested in production «well ahead of all of our peers», noting the group’s rising output in the Permian Basin in west Texas and New Mexico and record-high fuel production from its North American oil refineries.

Exxon said it was increasing its quarterly dividend by 3 per cent to $0.91 a share and indicated tips would total $15bn in 2022. In addition, the company plans to buy back $30bn in shares this year and next. Chevron’s third-quarter profit of $11.2bn, or $5.78 a share, was 84 per cent higher than the net profit of $6.1bn, or $3.19 a share, a year before. Earnings at both Exxon and Chevron eclipsed Wall Street’s expectations.

France’s TotalEnergiesreported earnings of $9.9bn on Thursday, bringing total quarterly profits for the four global oil majors to have reported to $50.3bn.

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