The oil companies have significantly increased their profit margins since the beginning of the war. A recent study by Greenpeace reveals just how much their profits have grown. In recent weeks, gasoline and diesel prices at the pump have risen significantly. The oil companies have cited the war in Ukraine as the reason for the increase. However, a study by Greenpeace has uncovered that the companies have been able to significantly increase their profits due to the high prices at the pump. According to the study, the companies have earned at least three billion euros in additional profit since the start of the war.
Greenpeace calculated this figure based on the increased margins between European pump prices and international crude oil prices. Since the beginning of the year, the price of crude oil has risen by 19 cents per liter. However, diesel has cost an average of 19 cents per liter more at the pump. The same trend can be seen with gasoline. In Germany alone, the companies were able to earn an additional 1.2 billion euros in profit. Greenpeace attributes the higher prices at the pump to “higher profit margins of the oil companies.”
The oil companies’ trade association, Fuels and Energy (en2x), on the other hand, claims that “the use of gas and electricity in the refining process” is primarily responsible for the higher prices. The association also explains that the companies “minimized imports of Russian crude oil and diesel on their own initiative immediately after the start of the war.” This “deliberate reduction in sources of supply” reduces the supply of diesel and heating oil, leading to higher market prices. Despite the recent drop in gasoline and diesel prices from their record highs, the ADAC still considers them “much too expensive compared to the price of crude oil.”
Greenpeace, on the other hand, criticizes the recent three-month reduction in energy taxes on fuel. “The recently decided tax cuts on fuel, especially at the instigation of the FDP, reduce incentives to save and thus play into the hands of the oil companies and Putin,” says Greenpeace transport expert Marion Tiemann.
