This week’s letter from a company that made nearly $200M in profit every single day last quarter, misreads the moment we are in.
September 30, 2022
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WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm issued the following statement today:
“This week’s letter from a company that made nearly $200M in profit every single day last quarter, misreads the moment we are in. The fact is this: Energy companies are making record profits, with refiners and retailers also posting margins that are well above average — while passing the costs on to consumers. Currently the average markup from wholesale to retail is about $1.27, compared to a typical 90 cents for this time of year. This price dynamic is possible because of ongoing refinery issues and a failure of companies to maintain sufficient regional inventories to buffer demand when refineries go offline, while those same companies export gasoline and diesel at record levels. While many states are still seeing lower prices than the peak in June, others in the Midwest and West are instead experiencing swift price increases because low inventories are not sufficient to meet their customers’ needs.
“This is a time for American energy companies to take action to lower prices for consumers and to rebuild inventories of gasoline and diesel in this country that are below the five-year range.
“As the President has said, these companies need to focus less on taking every last dollar off the table, and more on passing through savings to their customers. If companies like ExxonMobil continue to believe that 'free market incentives remain the most efficient way for the industry to address these problems,' they need to step up and show results for American consumers and the American economy.”