The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been great for at least five oil and gas executives, a new report shows. Executives from Hess, Pioneer Natural Resources, Marathon, and Continental Resources have cashed nearly $99 million of stock since President Biden said he was “convinced” Putin would invade Ukraine, public records compiled by BailoutWatch and Friends of the Earth show. “The actions of these oil executives make it clear that no matter how much they groan about the Biden Administration’s environmental policies and blame Putin for high prices, their focus remains entirely on lining their own pockets,” said Christopher Kuveke, data analyst at BailoutWatch. “There’s no use looking for other answers in the industry’s school of red herrings.”
Also late last week, Senate Democrats introduced legislation to recoup what they argue are disproportionately high gasoline prices in the form of a windfall tax on the increased cost of oil compared to the 2015-2019 average. (Oil execs: Gizmodo; Windfall tax: E&E $, New Republic, Washington Examiner; Both: Truthout)