US politicians up windfall tax rhetoric ante

Surging downstream profits add fuel to the fire, but the spectre of demand destruction lurks

Calls for a windfall tax on US oil and gas companies just notched up another gear after major refiners Marathon Petroleum, Valero, Phillips 66 and PBF Energy posted more than $15bn in combined earnings across Q2, adding to the $29.5bn reported by integrated majors Chevron and ExxonMobil over the same quarter. Politicians including Democratic senator Bernie Sanders were quick to highlight billions of dollars planned in stock buybacks this year, while soaring fuel prices have left President Joe Biden fuming. Clashes with the downstream have rumbled on for months, despite the sector running at near 100pc utilisation and reduced US refining capacity partially accelerated by the pandemic-driven d