The $3.4 billion write-down in Russia isn’t enough to stop surging profits at Exxon

The war in Ukraine has been great for the bottom lines of multinational oil and gas companies, even though many have had to abandon billions of dollars worth of assets in Russia.

ExxonMobil and Chevron posted surging first-quarter profits on April 29, buoyed by oil prices that have stayed above $100 per barrel since the Russian invasion. Exxon’s profit for the quarter hit $5.5 billion, double the same period last year even after having to write off $3.4 billion for exiting its Sakhalin-1 drilling operation in Russia. Chevron, which doesn’t have drilling operations in Russia,...