The New York Times — Shell’s Profit Soared to $42 Billion Last Year
Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, reported a bumper profit for 2022 on Thursday: $42.3 billion, more than double its 2021 total and
probably a record for any British company.
The company, like other global energy giants, has been raking in cash because of high oil and natural gas prices, caused in part by the war
in Ukraine. On Wednesday, Exxon Mobil reported $56 billion in annual profit, a record for the company. […]
Environmentalists contend that Shell is not investing enough of its earnings in clean energy. While investment in the unit that includes
renewable energy increased more than $1 billion in 2022, to $3.5 billion, it amounted to about 15 percent of overall investment of $25 billion.
“Shell can’t claim to be in transition as long as investments in fossil fuels dwarf investments in renewables,” said Mark van Baal, the head
of Follow This, an environmental group, and a longtime critic of Shell.
Indeed, last year Shell returned far more money to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks — $26 billion — than it invested in
the renewables unit.
