Washington, D.C. – With BP reporting their first quarter earnings, the top five oil companies have reported a total of $26.5 billion in profits, with $11.2 billion spent on dividends and $11.9 billion on stock buybacks. Profit announcements come on the heels of a bombshell allegation that the CEO of Pioneer, a newly-acquired subsidiary of Exxon, attempted to collude with OPEC to keep gas prices high. In response to the profits news, Climate Power senior advisor for oil and gas Alex Witt released the following statement: “Once again, the largest Big Oil companies reported multi-billions in profits, and their CEOs, executives, and shareholders benefited while ripping off American families. The FTC’s investigation shows that oil and gas CEOs are more than happy to cash their giant paychecks while artificially raising prices at the pump. Big Oil is making billions off the backs of working families and the pollution of our clean air and water.”