- Massive Western oil companies greater than double income to $219 bln
- Surge in income permits them to scale back debt
- Spending rises, local weather targets pushed again
World
Big Oil doubles profits in blockbuster 2022
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Massive Oil greater than doubled its income in 2022 to $219 billion, smashing earlier data in a yr of risky power costs the place Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reshaped world power markets and, in some instances, the business’s local weather ambitions.
The revenue surge gave the oil firms scope to extend spending on oil and fuel initiatives, and an opportunity for some to rethink power transition methods to fulfill new calls for for safety of provide.
The mixed $219 billion in income allowed BP (BP.L), Chevron (CVX.N), Equinor (EQNR.OL), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Shell (SHEL.L) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) to bathe shareholders with money.
The highest Western oil firms paid out a document $110 billion in dividends and share repurchases to buyers in 2022, spurring outraged calls on governments to impose windfall taxes on the business to assist shoppers with surging power prices.
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Norway’s Equinor on Wednesday reported a doubling of adjusted working revenue in 2022 to $74.9 billion on the again of a surge in European pure fuel costs and because it grew to become Europe’s largest fuel provider after Russia’s Gazprom (GAZP.MM) minimize deliveries amid the West’s assist for Ukraine.
Oil firms final yr additionally pulled out of Russia, a significant power producer, main to large writedowns, together with BP’s $24 billion exit from its 19.75% stake in Kremlin-controlled oil large Rosneft (ROSN.MM).
LOW DEBT
The sharp rise in oil and fuel costs, falling debt ranges and the abrupt drop in Russian provides to Europe additionally drove boards to extend spending on fossil gasoline manufacturing as governments prioritised safety of provide.
TotalEnergies Chief Govt Patrick Pouyanne stated after the French firm reported document income of $36.2 billion on Wednesday that the worldwide backdrop remained very beneficial for power firms, with the stress-free of COVID-19 measures in China pushing up demand for 2023.
“We would not be shocked to see oil again to $100 a barrel,” Pouyanne stated. Benchmark oil costs are at present close to $85 a barrel.
European firms which have outlined plans to scale back or gradual oil and fuel investments and construct giant renewables and low-carbon companies to chop greenhouse fuel emissions adjusted their methods.
None have been extra stark than BP Chief Govt Bernard Looney’s transfer to row again on plans to scale back the British firm’s oil and fuel output and carbon emissions by 2030.
“We’d like decrease carbon power, however we additionally want safe power, and we’d like reasonably priced power. And that is what governments and society all over the world are asking for,” Looney stated on Tuesday.
BP’s shares hit their highest in three and a half years on Wednesday, constructing on a 7.6% achieve a day earlier following the outcomes and shift in technique.
Bernstein analyst Oswald Clint known as BP “a lesson in pragmatism, prioritisation and efficiency”, score it “outperform”.
“Pragmatism takes precedence this week as a world quick power along with governments begging for extra from firms like BP causes a response. BP will lean extra into oil & fuel for the rest of this decade,” Clint stated in a be aware.
Reporting by Ron Bousso. Enhancing by Jane Merriman
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.
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World
Wrong Claims by Musk on US Election Got 2 Billion Views on X in 2024, Report Says
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – False or misleading claims by billionaire Elon Musk about the U.S. election have amassed 2 billion views on social media platform X this year, according to a report by non-profit group Center for Countering Digital Hate. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Government officials …
World
North Korea launches short-range ballistic missile hours before US election
Just hours before the U.S. election, North Korea was reported to have fired at least one ballistic missile into its eastern sea.
It remains unclear whether North Korea fired only one missile or multiple. It is also unclear what type of missile it was or how far it flew.
The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile designed to reach the U.S. mainland. In response to that launch, the United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in a show of force.
North Korea claimed last week that the Hwasong-19 it tested last Thursday was “the world’s strongest” ICBM, but experts say the solid-fuel missile was too big to be useful in a war situation. Experts say the North has yet to acquire some critical technologies to build a functioning ICBM, such as ensuring that the warhead survives the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry.
DOCUMENTS REVEAL RUSSIA’S INITIAL ‘PEACE DEAL’ EQUATED TO THE SURRENDER OF UKRAINE: REPORT
South Korean officials have warned that the North was likely to ratchet up military displays around the U.S. presidential elections to command the attention of Washington.
South Korea’s military intelligence agency said last week that North Korea has also likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.
Tensions between North and South Korea have been at all-time highs in recent months as Kim has repeatedly flaunted his expanding nuclear weapons and missile programs while providing Russia with munitions and troops to support President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
In response to North Korea’s growing nuclear threats, South Korea, the United States and Japan have been expanding their combined military exercises and updating their nuclear deterrence plans built around U.S. strategic assets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Musk’s $1m US voter giveaway can continue, Pennsylvania judge rules
The state’s top Democratic legal official says the giveaway in states likely to decide the US election is a ‘scam’.
A $1m-a-day voter sweepstakes operated by a political group established by billionaire Elon Musk can continue, a judge in the state of Pennsylvania has ruled.
Last month, the world’s richest man announced he would start the giveaway in seven battleground states likely to decide the outcome of the United States 2024 election.
Musk’s giveaway has widely been seen by many as an unsubtle attempt to secure extra votes for Republican candidate Donald Trump, who Musk has thrown his vocal and financial support behind.
Musk has given $75m to America PAC, a political action committee that has been funding various Republican candidates, including former President Trump.
Winners ‘not chosen by chance’
The Tesla CEO has already gifted $16m to registered swing-state voters who qualified for the giveaway by signing his political petition.
Pennsylvania‘s Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta’s decision on Monday came after a surprising day of testimony in a state court in which Musk’s aides acknowledged hand-picking the winners of the contest based on who would be the best spokespeople for his super PAC’s agenda.
Previously, the 53-year-old billionaire had claimed the winners would be chosen at random.
District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, called the process a scam “designed to actually influence a national election” and asked that it be shut down.
As it was, the judge ruled in favour of Musk and his America PAC.
Musk’s lawyer, Chris Gober, said the final two recipients before the presidential election would be announced in Arizona on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday.
“The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance,” said Gober.
“We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.”
‘They were scammed’
Chris Young, the director and treasurer of America PAC, testified that the recipients were vetted ahead of time, to “feel out their personality, [and] make sure they were someone whose values aligned” with the group.
Musk’s lawyers, defending the effort, called it “core political speech” given that participants were asked to sign a petition endorsing the US Constitution.
More than 1 million people from the seven battleground states – Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan – have registered for the sweepstakes by signing a petition saying they support the right to free speech and to bear arms, the first two amendments to the US Constitution.
District Attorney Krasner has questioned how the PAC might use their data, which it will have on hand well past the election.
“They were scammed for their information,” Krasner said. “It has almost unlimited use.”
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