Press Releases
ICYMI: Trahan Calls Out Oil Executives on Their Corporate Greed and Harmful Price-Gouging
Washington,
April 6, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) participated in a House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing with six of the largest American oil companies. During the hearing, Trahan questioned the companies’ top executives on their price-gouging practices during the Ukraine crisis that have enriched themselves and their shareholders. Footage of Trahan’s line of questioning and the executives’ answers can be accessed by clicking HERE or the image below. A full transcript of the exchange is included below. Hearing witnesses included:
-------- Congresswoman Lori Trahan Hearing Questions as Delivered Hearing on “Gouged at the Gas Station: Big Oil and America’s Pain at the Pump” April 6, 2021
TRAHAN: Thank you, Madam Chair. In late February, Russia launched its unprovoked and its violent invasion of Ukraine, and President Biden has organized our allies to impose crippling sanctions on or has organized our allies to impose sanctions on Russia. I recently returned from visiting Eastern Europe, where I heard thanks for President Biden's and America's leadership on these issues, but also concerns about American oil and gas companies profiteering from Russia's invasion. For the most part, oil companies have rightly stayed away from trading Russian oil during this global crisis, and several of your companies are discontinuing investments that have long fueled Putin's war machine. But among our witnesses, as my colleague Representative Tonko pointed out, there has been one company that continued to purchase Russian oil even after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On March 1st, after the invasion began, Shell purchased 100,000 barrels of Russian oil. Shell got this oil at a deep discount because no one else would touch it. Ms. Watkins, I'm aware that your company has since apologized, but what do you think it says about Shell's values and credibility that you bought Russian oil while the Russian military started carrying out its brutal attack on the people of Ukraine? WATKINS: I think it says, you know, within a day or two, we announced that we were walking away from $3 billion worth of investments, and I think that says a lot about how we despise what is happening. TRAHAN: Certainly, I am aware of your recent actions, but the reality is after the invasion, you put the profits ahead of the lives of innocent Ukrainians, and before our ability as a nation to hold Vladimir Putin accountable. Each of you have been crystal clear in public statements in the past month that Putin's invasion has been great for your bottom line. Not only have each of you taken advantage of this war and the crisis that it has produced to return even more profit to shareholders, but it also appears that at least five top oil executives have cashed out some $99 million worth of stock personally since the invasion began. These include top executives from Hess, Marathon, Continental Resources, and represented here today, Pioneer. Mr. Sheffield, you sold 22,247 shares worth $5.3 million on March 2nd, a little over a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. Was the value of Pioneer stock when you sold it after Russia's invasion higher, lower, or the same as it was prior to February 24th? SHEFFIELD: Yes, madam. The stock is only up about 8 to 9% since the invasion, and I still have over 90% of my net worth in Pioneer stock. It's the first time I've sold stock in several years. TRAHAN: Well, thank you, Mr. Sheffield, but the undeniable reality is that you did sell over 22,000 shares of your company's stock and pocketed millions from Putin's attack on Ukraine. Look, today's witnesses, they've talked extensively about industry externalities and the global nature of oil prices that aren't in their control. Yet, at the same time, I hear how these same executives and their companies are independently deciding not to invest in new supply or produce more, which would drive down gas prices for consumers in order to return value to the shareholder. You may not directly control price, but you do manipulate supply to decrease the amount of product on the market. And you do that to create scarcity, which at the end of the day drives up costs for hardworking Americans. It's easy to make prices skyrocket overnight, and that's great for share prices and stockholders — Mr. Sheffield has shown us that much. But it's bad for working families in my district and in every congressional district across our country. Your companies made a combined $76.4 billion last year. You're on track to make more this year. You're cashing multimillion dollar paychecks and you're profiting personally off your stock options, telling us that your hands are tied. Meanwhile, there are millions of folks who are seriously considering taking a second or third job just to make ends meet. So I'll close by asking you what any working parent who is struggling with their home heating bill or their gas prices in my district would. Sitting here today, no evasion, no pivoting, no slick lobbyist talking points, how do you plan to change course today? Will you stop prioritizing obscene profitability, buybacks and dividends over the livelihoods of working Americans? Because after all, you represent American companies, and that used to mean something, especially when we've been faced with threats abroad. It's my hope that you'll take this opportunity to make it mean something again. ### |