Why doesn’t Shell use its profits to subsidise fuel prices?
Higher crude prices have contributed to company revenues, but oil industry profit margins have been in line with those of other industries. Furthermore, energy companies need to continually invest billions of dollars each year, over the long term, to safeguard the future of their business and to ensure a sustainable energy supply for consumers. Producing crude oil involves long-term and high-risk projects requiring billions of dollars investment over 20-30 years (developing a single new oil field can cost over $1 billion). Higher profits in some periods help safeguard investments when oil prices, and hence profits, are lower at other times.
