NEW YORK (AP) — Big Oil continued to make big money in the second quarter.
Industry giants Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell on Wednesday reported a surge in earnings, helped by higher prices for oil, gasoline and other fuels. Even BP, still paying for the Gulf oil spill, made more than $5 billion in the quarter.
As they announced their windfall, executives said they'll devote billions of dollars more to finding new deposits that will eventually bring more supply to the market. Much of that attention will be focused on the U.S.
In the April-June period, Exxon's profits jumped 41 percent to $10.7 billion. Shell's net income nearly doubled to $8.7 billion and BP earned $5.6 billion compared with a loss of $17.2 billion last year.