>> WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE. OIL AND GAS COMPANY SHELL REPORTED RECORD ANNUAL PROFITS TODAY. JUST THE LATEST OIL GIANT TO DO SO IN RECENT DAYS. AND THAT DRAWING RENEWED SCRUTINY AFTER THOSE RECORD PRICE SPIKES AT THE GAS PUMPS FROM LAST YEAR. LET'S TAKE A LOOK BY THE NUMBERS. SHELL REPORTED THAT ITS PROFITS HIT NEARLY 40 BILLION DOLLARS IN 2022. THAT WAS DOUBLE THEIR PROFIT FOR 2021 AND THE HIGHEST PROFITS IN THE 115 YEARS THE COMPANY HAS EXISTED. THEY JOIN EXXON, WHICH REPORTED NEARLY 56 BILLION DOLLARS IN PROFIT LAST YEAR WHICH THE WHITE HOUSE CALLED OUTRAGEOUS AND CHEVRON BROUGHT IN MORE THAN 36 BILLION DOLLARS IN PROFITS. IN TOTAL, THE LARGEST OIL AND GAS COMPANIES RAKE IN NEARLY 200 BILLION DOLLARS IN PROFIT COMBINED FOR 2022, ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY TRACKING DATA. AVERAGE U.S. GAS PRICES ROSE TO NEARLY FIVE BILLION DOLLARS LAST SUMMER AS OIL PRICES SPIKED IN THE WAKE OF RUSSIA'S INVASION OF UKRAINE AND HIGH DEMAND FOR TRAVEL RETURNED AS THE PANDEMIC WANED. BUT WHILE OIL COMPANIES CASHED IN AS THE PRICE OF OIL ROSE TO AS MUCH AS $120 A BARREL LAST YEAR, THEY HAVE NOW FALLEN BACK TO ABOUT $83 AS DEMAND HAS SLOWED. AND NOW OIL COMPANIES ARE FOCUSING ON RETURNING SOME OF THEIR PROFITS TO THEIR INVESTORS. SHE'LL TODAY ANNOUNCED A FOUR BILLION DOLLAR STOCK SHARE BUYBACK AND INCREASED ITS DIVIDEND BY 15%. -- STOCK PRICES FOR THEIR INVESTORS. AT THAT SIGN, CHEVRON RIGHT SIMILAR MOVES. -- BIPARTISAN BACKLASH ON ACCUSATIONS OF PRICE GOUGING. WITH SOME CRITICS CALLING FOR WINDFALL