If G7 Price Cap On Russian Oil Backfires, These 3 Dividend-Paying Energy Stocks Could Benefit

As the Group of Seven (G7) and European Union announced a plan to set a price cap on Russian oil of $60 per barrel, set to take effect on Dec. 5, 2022, it is evident that the energy crisis is far from over. That's because Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will not sell oil at a lower price cap.

Besides the price cap, China, India and Turkey have ramped up their purchases of Russian oil. If Russia does indeed resist the price cap, it could send another shock to the market prices of oil for Western nations.

With much of the European Union's sanctions on Russian oil and gas beginning in the summer months, it begs the question, will the EU be able to find enough energy supplies for 2023? Not to mention, OPEC+ on Sunday decided to keep its current production policy in place. Since the macroeconomic conditions point to an unstable future regarding energy commodities, investors may benefit from jumping into these three energy plays offering dividends and share buybacks.

Also Read: As EU's Russian Oil Cap Deadline Nears, OPEC+ Virtual Meet Reportedly Indicates Little Possibility Of Policy Change
TotalEnergies SE TTE is offering a forward dividend yield of 4.70% or $2.85 per share annually, through quarterly payments, with an inconsistent track record of increasing its dividends. TotalEnergies owns interests in refineries with capacity of nearly 1.8 million barrels a day, primarily in Europe, distributes refined oil and gas products in 65 countries, and manufactures commodity and specialty chemicals.

TotalEnergies repurchased 38.9 million shares for cancellation in the third quarter for $2 billion, amounting to at least $5 billion in share buybacks in the first nine months of 2022.

Shell plc SHEL is offering a forward dividend yield of 3.43% or $1.98 per share annually, making quarterly payments, with an inconsistent track record of increasing its dividends. Shell operates refineries with capacity of 1.8 million barrels per day (mmb/d) located in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe and sells 15 MTPA of chemicals.

On Oct. 27, 2022 Shell announced the commencement of a $4 billion share buyback program covering an aggregate contract term of approximately three months which will be completed prior to the company’s fourth-quarter results on Feb. 2, 2023.

BP plc BP is offering a forward dividend yield of 4.08% or $1.44 per share annually, using quarterly payments, with a track record of increasing its dividends once in the past year. BP operates refineries with a capacity of 1.9 million barrels of oil per day, and produced 1.1 million barrels of liquids and 6.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, in 2021.

As part of the share buyback program announced in April 2021, 571 million ordinary shares repurchased for cancellation were settled during the third quarter of 2022 for a total cost of roughly $2.88 billion. This brings the total number of shares repurchased and settled in the nine months to at least 1.3 billion shares, for a total cost of roughly $6.8 billion.