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Oil Profits Soar, but the Industry’s Path Forward Remains Uncertain

The New York Times · Somini Sengupta · last updated

The war in Ukraine has been good for oil companies. Look no further than Shell’s first quarter earnings. It made record profits in the first three months of the year: $9.1 billion, nearly three times what it made in the first quarter of 2021.

Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: petroleum

State of Play

While electric-powered vehicles may be the ride of the future, oil remains at least for now the dominant fuel for transportation around the world. And after a period of time at the end of the 20th century when oil was subject to wide fluctuations in price, new supplies in North America as a result of non-conventional recovery techniques have helped stabilize prices.

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