Shell’s profits quadruple – Greenpeace calls for windfall tax on oil companies to help bill payers

Shell made more than £14bn in profits last year, quadruple its profits in 2020- the equivalent of £450 per second [1].

Consumer bills are expected to rise by around £600 when Ofgem increases the price cap later today [THURS] which is an increase for all UK households of £16.7bn, just shy of Shell’s annual profits [2].

And while UK consumers are getting squeezed on bills, Shell’s shareholders are also getting an $8.5 billion boost for the first half of 2022 in share buybacks plus an increase in the dividend of 4% per share from last year.

Commenting on the announcement Greenpeace UK’s head of climate Kate Blagojevic said:

“Our continued dependence on fossil fuels is a goldmine for companies like Shell and a scourge for bill payers and the planet. While Shell is quadrupling its profits off the back of record-high gas prices, millions of households are left with cold homes and astronomic bills.

“The Chancellor’s response to this crisis seems to be to delay a bit of the financial blow to bill payers and let the oil giants keep their ludicrous profits. So much for levelling up. Instead of leaving families to foot the bill for the gas price crunch, Rishi Sunak should tax the bloated profits of fossil fuel giants and use the money to help cash-strapped households and insulate homes.”

Greenpeace UK has calculated that a windfall tax on the estimated profits of fossil fuel companies could raise £4bn in revenues. This money would be enough to cover a £500 one-off payment to the six millions households expected to be in fuel poverty by April while also leaving a further £1bn to insulate homes of the poorest families and cut future bills.

The UK has one of the most favourable tax regimes in the world for offshore oil and gas drilling. The £4bn could be raised by simply increasing the tax level on fossil fuel production from 40 to 70%, the international average, which would still be lower than that of Norway, Mexico or India.