Shell just reported adjusted earnings of $39.9 billion for 2022, double the earnings from 2021, becoming the latest Big Oil firm to deliver record profits for last year.
Shell’s adjusted earnings doubled to $39.9 billion in 2022 from $19.3 billion in 2021, thanks to higher realized oil and gas prices, high refining margins, and strong trading results mainly in the gas, chemicals, and renewables divisions, the supermajor said.
Along with the results, Shell announced a 15% dividend increase for the fourth quarter, as well as $4 billion in share buybacks, which are expected to be completed by the Q1 2023 results announcement in early May.
Shell’s 2022 results include charges of $2.3 billion related to the EU solidarity contribution and the UK Energy Profits Levy—the windfall taxes Europe introduced last year for energy producers.
Shell’s record profits and the record earnings at the U.S. supermajors could intensify calls for more taxation on oil and gas majors as consumers continue to see high energy bills.
ExxonMobil reported on Tuesday $55.7 billion in earnings for 2022 in a record-breaking earnings tally for any Western oil supermajor ever.
High oil and gas prices were the key reasons for higher profits at Exxon, which beat its own annual earnings record of $45.2 billion from 2008 – when oil prices hit a record $142 per barrel – and posted the highest-ever annual profit by a major Western oil firm.
Source: Shell, Oil Price
