HOUSTON, Jan 31 Reuters Exxon Mobil Corp posted a 56 billion net profit for 2022, the company said on Tuesday, taking home about 6.3 million per hour last year, and setting not only a company record but a historic high for the Western oil industry.

Oil majors are expected to break their own annual records on high prices and soaring demand, pushing their combined take to near 200 billion. The scale has renewed criticism of the oil industry and sparked calls for more countries to levy windfall profit taxes on the companies.

Exxon39;s results far exceeded the thenrecord 45.2 billion net profit it reported in 2008, when oil hit 142 per barrel, 30 above last year39;s average price. Deep cost cuts during the pandemic helped supercharge last year39;s earnings.

Overall earnings and cash flow were up pretty significantly year on year, Exxon Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells told Reuters. So that came really from a combination of strong markets, strong throughput, strong production, and really good cost control.

Exxon said it incurred a 1.3 billion hit to its fourthquarter earnings from a European Union windfall tax that began in the final quarter and from 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. Production was up by about 100,000 barrels of oil and gas per day over a year ago to 3.8 million bpd. Adjusted pershare profit of 3.40 beat consensus of 3.29…