A day after blockbuster profits from European oil heavyweights, U.S. oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron reported another round of bumper earnings, prompting fresh attention from the White House.

ExxonMobil scored a near tripling of third-quarter profits to $19.7 billion, a company record, while Chevron's profits surged 84 percent to $11.2 billion.

The eye-popping reports drew a new snipe from President Joe Biden and came on the heels of hefty profits reported earlier this week by TotalEnergies and Shell that have reignited a European debate on windfall profits taxes.

The results show how the surge in crude prices throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict has boosted the industry by lifting crude prices, as well as natural gas prices due to Europe's mobilization to offset lost natural gas imports from Russia.

Another factor has been elevated refining margins, partly due to operational woes at some plants, as well as the shuttering of some refineries during the pandemic and the repurposing of other plants for renewable fuel instead of gasoline.

The strong refining margins have translated into higher gasoline prices, a major point of focus in the midterm U.S. elections roiled by rising inflation.

Prices at the pump stand are at a national average of $3.76 per gallon, up about 11 percent from the year-ago level. Prices topped $5 in June, hitting an all-time high. 

Biden, who has alternated between slamming oil giants and prodding them to boost output, mocked a comment from ExxonMobil Chief Executive Daren Woods, who defended the industry's practice of returning extra cash to shareholders. 

Woods, responding to criticism that the industry should return profits to the American people, said "that's exactly what we're doing in the form of our quarterly dividend," according to prepared remarks Friday.

Biden rejected that argument.

"Can't believe I have to say this but giving profits to shareholders is not the same as bringing prices down for American families," Biden tweeted.

Officials from ExxonMobil and Chevron have met with the Biden administration, but the companies have maintained their spending policies, boosting production in the U.S. Permian Basin and some other venues incrementally. They are not opening the faucets for massive new projects. The companies have continued to return cash to shareholders.

(Source: AFP with edits)