After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, energy prices increased, leading to record profits for the oil and gas company Shell.
In 2022, profits will reach $39.9bn (£32.2bn), twice as much as last year and the most in its 115-year history.
Since oil and gas prices went up after the invasion of Ukraine, energy firms have made more money than ever before.
It has put a lot of pressure on businesses to pay more taxes when families struggle to pay their bills.
The opposition said Shell’s profits were “outrageous” and that the government was allowing energy firms off the hook.” They also asked that the planned increase to the cap on energy prices in April be canceled.
After the Covid lockdowns ended, energy prices started to go up, but they went up quickly in March of last year after events in Ukraine worried people about supplies.
After the invasion, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil went up to almost $128. Since then, it has gone down to about $83. Gas prices also went up, but they have since gone down.
It has led to huge profits for energy companies and caused home and business energy bills to go up.
Last year, the UK government put a tax on firms’ “extraordinary” profits called the Energy Profits Levy. This was done to help pay for its plan to lower gas and electricity bills…Read More
Source: California Gazette