Chevron and Exxon Mobil have reported significant profits in the third quarter of this year, driven by higher diesel prices resulting from conflicts in Iran and Russia. The companies ran their refineries at full capacity, with Chevron's facilities operating at 98% capacity and Exxon Mobil's Gulf Coast refineries at 100% utilization.
This led to a nearly 200% increase in Chevron's net income to $9.9 billion and a more than doubling of Exxon Mobil's earnings to $15.4 billion. The higher diesel prices, which averaged above $6.30, have strained consumers ahead of the midterm elections, but have greatly benefited oil and gas companies.
The premiums have also led to increased yields of diesel and jet fuel for Chevron, with a 10% rise in production. Exxon Mobil's refining division outperformed its oil and gas production for the first time in years, with the company recording its second-highest diesel production on record.
The earnings reports come after President Donald Trump previously criticized Chevron and Exxon for making "too much" profit, but he has since changed his rhetoric, bragging about the domestic oil and gas industry's profits. Trump claimed that the industry is making "hundreds of billions of dollars" and that oil prices will "come way down" once the conflict in Iran ends.
The president's comments were made despite his administration's efforts to lower refined product prices by releasing emergency stockpiles and allowing imports of Russian products.