Trump vs. Biden: A look at bottom line for America's oil and gas titans

The profits of major oil and gas companies in the United States tripled during Joe Biden's presidency, despite industry criticism of his administration and warnings that his re-election would be detrimental to the sector.

The 10 largest listed traded oil and gas companies in the US, including ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources Inc., Pioneer Natural Resources, Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Hess Corp., Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy, and Coterra Energy, are set to unveil their 2023 financial results this week. They are poised to report a combined net income of $313 billion during the first three years of Biden's presidency.

This marks a significant surge from the total profit of $112 billion recorded during the same period under Donald Trump’s presidency, the Financial Times reported.

These calculations are based on the announced profits of these companies for 2023, except Devon, which is expected to disclose its results later today, Feb. 27.

The robust profit surge was partially driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to a spike in oil and gas prices. Additionally, there was a strong rebound in global energy demand following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the first three years of Biden's presidency, the average price of US crude oil stood at around $80 per barrel, in contrast to $58 per barrel during Trump's tenure.

Moreover, the total market capitalization of these 10 companies increased by 132% during Biden's presidency, surpassing $1.1 trillion, after declining 12% in the first three years of Trump's presidency.

Under Biden's administration, US oil production reached a record level of 13.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in November 2023 and natural gas output surpassed 105 billion cubic feet per day (cf/d) for the first time. In 2023, the US emerged as the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.