(The Center Square) – As conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues into its sixth month, American oil companies have recorded record profits despite the global oil supply facing significant shortages.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week sent a letter to seven top oil executives – including Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, Chevron and Conoco Phillips – questioning the corporations’ ability to make heightened profits as the price at Illinois pumps increased in recent months.
Pritzker addressed energy policies he’s pushed to help ease the burden of fuel costs for Illinoisans, but none have fully addressed sharp price increases in the short term.
“I advocated for making E-15 available year-round. This is a gasoline that only typically has only been available at a certain time of the year. But with the war in Iran and the price of gasoline going way up, at least having E-15 available to people brings down the price by $0.15 or $0.20 per gallon, which is some of the way,” Pritzker said Thursday.
In his letter, Pritzker provides executives an Aug. 21 deadline to agree to multiple requests he made of the companies.
“State whether your company is prepared to return any portion of its wartime windfall to consumers in Illinois via price reductions at the pump, direct refunds, or other means,” read the letter.
Additionally, the governor asked the companies provide details of executive compensation and explain the decision-making process leading to higher prices.
Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, had his salary increased to $2.14 million at the start of the year. Woods also received a $4.1 million bonus and nearly $26 million in stock awards last year, according to SEC filings.
“As conditions changed, we moved products where they were needed, optimized assets, and supported customers, leveraging our global integrated portfolio. We delivered strong earnings and cash flow, continued investing in advantaged opportunities, returned cash to shareholders, and strengthened the balance sheet,” Woods said in a July 31 statement.
ExxonMobil recorded $14.5 billion in the second quarter this year, and Woods attributed the gain to the company’s ability to adapt to changes in the industry as the conflict progressed.
Mike Wirth, Chevron CEO, similarly saw a salary increase in January, earning $1.98 million as a base salary this year. Wirth sold about $104 million of Chevron shares between January and March.
Pritzker argued Illinoisans can’t afford high prices anymore, and the Middle Eastern conflict needs to end.
“People can’t stand this anymore. Along with the tariffs, it is just too expensive for people to survive anymore. So this is one thing he could do, and the E-15 of course helps it make it a little bit easier on people. And we’re going to keep working to find ways to bring down costs,” Pritzker said.
Among policies Pritzker has pushed to lower prices at the pump in Illinois are a six-month pause on a regular motor-fuel tax increase by the state and a push for year-round E-15 fuel to be made available year round.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has advocated for the addition of a year-round approval for E-15 sales to be included in the Senate’s Farm Bill. The bill failed a vote and will likely be considered again next month.
