The total dividends paid by 26 U.S. oil companies last year amounted to $128 billion (approximately 166 trillion won). This is a result of soaring oil prices due to Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as increased shareholder return initiatives on Wall Street.
According to Bloomberg on the 4th (local time), the money spent by U.S. oil companies last year on share buybacks and dividends exceeded the amount invested in new drilling and extraction. The total dividends of $128 billion paid by 26 oil companies last year is also the highest since 2012.
President Joe Biden appealed to the oil industry to increase production to ease the rising oil prices, but the industry did not accept this. Bloomberg reported, "From the perspective of major oil companies, refusing the direct request of the U.S. government has never yielded such substantial profits as it has this time."
The reason oil companies did not follow government policies is due to growing concerns among investors that fossil fuel demand will peak around 2030 and then decline. Since it takes decades to recover invested capital in oil fields, gas fields, and refineries as profits, there are concerns that these could become a kind of 'stranded assets.' Therefore, investors hope that oil companies will focus on shareholder returns rather than setting new investment plans for drilling and extraction.
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