Exxon Mobil revealed on Tuesday that it achieved a net profit of 56 billion dollars in 2022, raising around 6.3 million dollars an hour last year.

Exxon Mobil said it had broken its own record, as well as recorded and all-time high in the Western oil industry.

Exxon's results far exceeded the then record net profits of 45.2 billion dollars it posted in 2008, when oil reached 122 dollars a barrel, 30% above last year's average price. Deep cost cuts during the pandemic helped take a toll on last year's profits.

"Overall earnings and cash flow have increased significantly each year, and this has resulted from a combination of strong markets, strong revenue, strong production, and really good cost control," said Exxon's Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells, quoted by the Reuters.

Exxon Mobil said it suffered a 1.3 billion dollar loss in its fourth quarter earnings from a European Union (EU) windfall tax that began last quarter on asset impairments. The company is suing the EU, arguing that the levy exceeds its legal authority.

Excluding charges, profit for the full year was 59.1 billion dollars. Production increased by around 100,000 barrels of oil and gas a day over a year ago, to 3.8 million bpd.

The major oil companies are expected to break their own annual records for high prices and increased demand, boosting their combined production to close to 200 billion dollars.