(Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp. blew past analysts’ estimates with the second-highest earnings in its history, accelerating a prolific profit haul for the world’s biggest oil explorers.  

Third-quarter earnings of $5.56 per share surpassed the median $4.94 forecast among analysts in the Bloomberg Consensus. Net income was $11.2 billion, down slightly from the all-time high of more than $12 billion in the prior three months, according to a company statement on Friday.

Soaring international natural gas prices stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a key driver of Chevron’s performance and the company also benefited from strong oil-production growth in the Permian Basin and higher jet-fuel demand. 

Profits of such magnitude have drawn sharp criticism from US President Joe Biden and other high-profile Democrats who have urged the oil industry to invest more on energy production rather than dividends and share buybacks. On Thursday, Biden criticized Shell Plc for increasing investor payouts at a time when consumers are being squeezed. 

Chevron has lifted capital spending significantly since the depths of the pandemic, and the company’s US production is rising sharply. Output in the US Permian Basin touched the record equivalent of 700,000 barrels a day during the third quarter, up 12% from a year earlier. But US growth is largely offsetting declines elsewhere in the world, and Chevron’s capital spending will be about $15 billion this year, down by about 25% from pre-Covid levels. 

“We delivered another quarter of strong financial performance with return on capital employed of 25 percent,” Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said in the statement. “At the same time, we’re increasing investments and growing energy supplies, with our Permian production reaching another quarterly record.”

Unlike European rivals Shell and Repsol SA, Chevron did not announce additional shareholder returns on Friday. Just months ago, the company raised dividends and share buybacks to a combined $25 billion a year. 

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