RWE is a pioneer
Shell also waives money from the gas levy
08/14/2022, 7:06 p.m
Is Shell taking social responsibility or is the energy company acting out of fear of an excess profit tax? In any case, he is waiving funds from the planned surcharge to save gas importers. Shell has already made huge profits in the second quarter of this year.
The energy company Shell does not want to demand any money from the planned surcharge to save systemically important gas importers. As the spokeswoman for Shell Germany, Cornelia Wolber, announced in Hamburg, the company did not even register for the corresponding payments and will therefore refrain from making use of them.
The energy company RWE also wants to do without it for the time being. “RWE is a financially strong and robust company. We are therefore considering refraining from claiming our losses from the gas replacement procurement for this levy for the time being,” said RWE CEO Markus Krebber on Thursday in Essen. The surcharge should take effect from the beginning of October and benefit gas importers like Uniper, who have to buy replacement gas volumes from Russia at high prices. So far, however, you cannot pass on these additional costs; this is to be done via the levy. The amount of the levy will be announced on Monday.
The sharp increase in the price of oil and gas means profits for energy companies around the world. Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, quintupled its profit in the second quarter to $18 billion; the British oil company BP tripled it, the French companies Totalenergies and Engie each doubled their profits. The situation was similar for Repsol in Spain and ENI in Italy. In Germany, RWE revised its profit forecast sharply upwards.
In view of the price explosion on the world markets, the Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco also achieved record results again. In the second quarter of this year, a profit of 48.4 billion dollars was generated, said the partially state-owned company. It benefited from the oil price consequences of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the significant increase in demand after the corona pandemic abated. In several countries, governments are introducing an excess profits tax. In Germany, however, this is a controversial topic.