'They ain't seen nothing yet': President Biden’s feud with oil companies heats up again as the industry fires back.

Biden has taken issue with oil juggernauts like $Chevron(CVX.US)$ and $Exxon Mobil(XOM.US)$ that have been raking in profits this last year — especially in the wake of scorching inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Biden hasn’t minced his words
Biden has been waging a battle with oil companies since before he even took office, but he escalated it last November when he called their record profits "a windfall of war," not the result of anything "new or innovative."
He went on, exhorting them to “act beyond their narrow self-interest,” and “invest in America by increasing production and refining capacity” on behalf of “their consumers, their community and their country.”
And if they don’t? Biden warns they’re going to face “a higher tax on their excess profits and … higher restrictions.”
Oil companies fire back
While gas has dropped from a record high of over $5/gallon in June, it’s still currently hovering around $3.28. And that, along with a dangerously low oil supply and a dwindling diesel stockpile is clearly weighing on Biden.
But oil companies argue they’re already contributing to the cause. Exxon Mobil’s CEO Darren Woods took a moment during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 28 to address Biden.
“There has been discussion in the U.S. about our industry returning some of our profits directly to the American people,” Woods said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing in the form of our quarterly dividend."
The president didn’t take kindly to that, tweeting his response a few hours later: “Can’t believe I have to say this but giving profits to shareholders is not the same as bringing prices down for American families.”
The issue has become political
But all this back-and-forth could only be aggravating the situation. A blog post from the Institute for Energy Research accused the Energy Department of asking them to “undersell their product” and accused Biden of using the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve “as a political tool to lower gasoline prices.”
Don’t expect Biden to capitulate
Still, the president isn’t likely to cave entirely.
Just a few short months ago in November, Exxon and Chevron, two of the country’s biggest oil companies, reported hefty profits for the fourth consecutive quarter. That same day, in a briefing from the White House, Biden pointed out that six of the largest companies “made $70 billion in profit” in just 90 days.
Appalled that all that money was going back to their shareholders and executives, Biden issued a promise: “I’m going to keep harping on it. These companies talk about me picking on them, they ain’t seen nothing yet. I mean it. It outrages me.” $Camber Energy(CEI.US)$ $Imperial Petroleum(IMPP.US)$ $Occidental Petroleum(OXY.US)$ $Indonesia Energy(INDO.US)$ $Houston American Energy(HUSA.US)$