Oil Firms Faces Headwinds After Record $200bn Profit Haul

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies and BP reaped almost $200 billion collectively last year but fears of an economic slowdown, plunging natural gas prices, cost inflation and uncertainty over China’s re-opening are dimming the outlook for 2023, Bloomberg has reported.

The five companies are expected to report $198.7 billion in combined 2022 profit in coming days, 50 per cent higher than the previous annual record set more than a decade ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The tsunami of cash generated by the group over the past 12 months means the industry can sustain dividend increases and share buybacks, analysts said. Crucially for shareholders, management teams held off on spending increases as commodities boomed, in stark contrast with previous cycles.