Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its ensuing international energy crisis allowed for crude oil producers such as Chevron and Exxon to gouge gasoline prices. These higher prices led to record profits for oil corporations, with CBS News reporting that Exxon Mobil earned $112 billion in total quarterly revenue, double that of the previous year. They additionally report Chevron made a $11.2 billion in profits in its most recent quarter alone. With increased funds to work with, many oil and gas producing corporations are increasing production through new refinement centers in North America which will allow for faster and more efficient production of crude oil and natural gas.
While these corporations are benefitting greatly from the Russians ceasing their energy exports, the increased demand and price to the everyday buyer greatly affects the development of the overall economy.
According to Sujata Saha in her article Asymmetric Impact of Oil Price Changes on Stock Prices: Evidence from Country and Sectoral Level Data, oil prices and stocks are linked in both a positive and negative ways. For example, the Russian oil crisis has increased prices because of the resource’s volatility in the market causing producers to charge more per gallon of gasoline. This increase in price, while giving energy producers security and lowering demand, overall will hurt stock prices because of how essential oil is to the economy. Businesses and workers paying extra for oil and its products are forced to lower investments and increase costs of production. In businesses, this cost can be seen not only in oil and gas intensive work like trucking, but additionally in everyday costs such as energy bills to keep the heat on when it gets cold. That’s not to even mention increased prices in residences for energy.
The study does cite a positive relationship between stock prices and oil price can exist, but this data usually comes from an oil rich country such as Saudi-Arabia, which is entirely depended on oil for its economic growth.
In the end, the price of energy is felt most in places without oil production, such as Virginia where the price of gasoline skyrocketed to over $4.00 a gallon during the summer months. Fortunately enough, Virginia anticipated where the energy market was going, advancing our infrastructure to the point where Alternatively Fueled Vehicles lower local energy usage for both fleets and individuals. The continued growth in Alternatively Fueled Vehicle use will spark growth in industries related to these vehicles, perhaps giving an incentive for the oil corporations to invest some of their newfound overabundance of wealth.
Sources:
Saha, Sujata. “Asymmetric Impact of Oil Price Changes on Stock Prices: Evidence from Country and Sectoral Level Data.” Journal of Economics and Finance 46, no. 2 (2022): 237–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12197-021-09559-3.
“Oil Giants Rake in Record Profits as Energy Prices Remain High.” n.d. Www.cbsnews.com. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/big-oil-profits-2022-joe-biden-exxon-chevron-soaring-gas-energy-prices/.