High energy prices leave oil giants untroubled by Russia exit or tax hints

An employee fills the tank of a car at a BP petrol station in Moscow, Russia in 2016. The sign reads 'Thank you for choosing us!' Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

“May you live in interesting times,” runs the saying, supposedly an English translation of an ancient Chinese curse.

For BP and Shell, the British companies that account for two of the world’s seven oil “supermajors”, the first quarter of 2022 has been painfully fascinating.