Big five oil companies to reward shareholders with record payouts

A section of BP’s Eastern Trough Area Project oil platform in the North Sea. The company said it would raise dividends despite a deeper-than-expected profit slump. Photograph: Reuters

The world’s five largest listed oil companies are expected to reward their investors with record payouts of more than $100bn (£79bn) for 2023 against a backdrop of growing public outrage at fossil fuel profits.

The five “super-majors” – BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies – showered shareholders with dividend payments and share buybacks worth $104bn in the 2022 calendar year, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).