Record Oil Company profits...

[timmgirvan]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Obviously,their profits are absurd.They wouldn't be if there was price competition.There is very little competition going on.There are a lot of reasons for high prices,but only one real main reason their profits are this high(no price competition.)Regulate? How about it works like other free market systems,and have many companies competing by offering the best prices possible for the consumer?

Their profits are absurd..but most of their profits comes from overseas oil sales...they put 30% back into R&D(as per an Exxon stockholder and employee I heard on radio last night). In Nigeria, gas is 6.50 a gallon,Europe is as bad or worse! I know, I know...they keep flashing those huge numbers but they actually made less that Wall Street projected. It's a pickle for sure, but windfall profits tax just put more money at the govts disposal...and we know how well that works!!

[jp96stang]

My company has profit margins of 25% so should it be regulated?

Shell for example posted quarterly profits of about 7.5 billion on about 110 billion in quarterly revenue.......thats just shy of 7%. No one would be bitching if they showed profits of 7.5 million on 110 million in revenues!!

Gale is right on the point. the value of the usd is what controls the price of oil.

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by jp96stang

My company has profit margins of 25% so should it be regulated?

Shell for example posted quarterly profits of about 7.5 billion on about 110 billion in quarterly revenue.......thats just shy of 7%. No one would be bitching if they showed profits of 7.5 million on 110 million in revenues!!

Gale is right on the point. the value of the usd is what controls the price of oil.

No one was crying for these oil companies when oil was $10 a barrel. Plenty of oil industry firms went bust. If you tax this, what is next? Do i-Phones really need to cost $600? Why not $200?

[Better Than Honour]

Originally Posted by SentToStud

No one was crying for these oil companies when oil was $10 a barrel. Plenty of oil industry firms went bust. If you tax this, what is next? Do i-Phones really need to cost $600? Why not $200?

American Oil Companies take 33% of the oil out of land owned by the federal government. They got sweet deals and basically pay the government nothing in royalties. They are not like other businesses. They also get free protection from the United States military. They have infrastructure throughout the world, especially in the middle east, and the US military spends over $40 billion a year protecting it. Oil companies screw the public because they can. If they are going to screw the government out of royalties than the government should screw them back.

Alternative fuels though are the way to go. The oil industry though is doing everything it can though to pay off the auto industry and the government so this does not happen. Remember the auto industry bought the technology for the electric car battery and then the oil industry bought it from them so nobody could use it. No conspiracy there. Just reality.

Originally Posted by SentToStud

No one was crying for these oil companies when oil was $10 a barrel. Plenty of oil industry firms went bust. If you tax this, what is next? Do i-Phones really need to cost $600? Why not $200?

AT&T wireless is giving a $200 rebate now. Of course there's a reason. New iPhones in June.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Better Than Honour

American Oil Companies take 33% of the oil out of land owned by the federal government. They got sweet deals and basically pay the government nothing in royalties. They are not like other businesses. They also get free protection from the United States military. They have infrastructure throughout the world, especially in the middle east, and the US military spends over $40 billion a year protecting it. Oil companies screw the public because they can. If they are going to screw the government out of royalties than the government should screw them back.

Alternative fuels though are the way to go. The oil industry though is doing everything it can though to pay off the auto industry and the government so this does not happen. Remember the auto industry bought the technology for the electric car battery and then the oil industry bought it from them so nobody could use it. No conspiracy there. Just reality.

you mean like biodiesel? govt (taxpayers) subsidizes that industry, and it produces more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels. food costs going thru the roof, and third world countries are starving. fossil fuels are still the most abundant, and cheapest to produce. if the oil companies didn't think they had to get what they could while they can, maybe we wouldn't see the prices we're seeing now. futures are also driving the price right now, with no one wanting to be the one holding the bag when the bubble bursts. it's artificially inflated. sooner or later, it'll burst.

[timmgirvan]

I hear we can all retire to Costa Rica on 19 bucks a day!

[ceejay]

Originally Posted by Better Than Honour

They got sweet deals and basically pay the government nothing in royalties.

I don't want to confuse you with the facts but the MMS http://www.mrm.mms.gov/MRMWebStats/D...07&datetype=AY reported ~$9.4 Billion in oil gas, ngl royalties last year plus $1.2 billion in bonuses. That's a lot of "nothing."

[timmgirvan]

Originally Posted by ceejay

I don't want to confuse you with the facts but the MMS http://www.mrm.mms.gov/MRMWebStats/D...07&datetype=AY reported ~$9.4 Billion in oil gas, ngl royalties last year plus $1.2 billion in bonuses. That's a lot of "nothing."

No matter...it just goes back into the slush fund,oh I mean the GAO!

[ceejay]

Originally Posted by timmgirvan

No matter...it just goes back into the slush fund,oh I mean the GAO!

Round-off error.

[timmgirvan]

Originally Posted by ceejay

Round-off error.

funny but scary...ain't it a bitch!

[Storm Cadet]

Gas just hit $4.05 a gallon for regular unleaded here on Long Island.

I'm trying to figure out what it will cost the average home owner to heat their homes this winter and in the future. Home heating oil is at 4.29 a gallon now. Thats over a grand to fill their oil tank each fill. How are home owners going to do that 4-6 times a year?

Looking forward, how are schools going to keep those buses running, class rooms warm?

Does the public really have a clue on the magnitude that 5-6 dollar per gallon fuel prices will bring? How will commuter college students afford to get to classes? How will colleges afford to heat those large dorms for residents? I saw an outlook on the future on TV the other night. Air flights are already putting $140.00 FUEL surcharges on each ticket. Many small market and mid size cities will no longer have viable air flight traffic. They predict it will be like the 1950's where there were limited airports, each flight was expensive and flights were full. We will no longer be getting fresh fruits and veggies from South America in the winter months due to the costs of shipping. Malls will be ghost towns as people will order on-line instead of driving. They discussed how many people drive 40 plus miles to work each day. No mass transit nearby will be a real cause of concern for many to get to work.

Think how many companies will shut down with the coming oil prices?
Cruise lines? Gone. Amusement parks like 6 flags and Disney, no lines at parks, many will close. Ski slopes- forget about it. If global warming doesn't get 'em, the long drive to get there will. Imagine what FEDEX-UPS- US Mail will charge with fuel surcharges? Think those companies that are so dependent on fuel to deliver their product are smiling today on their future?

Is there ANY area that is free from oil price increases?

Not a rosy picture for the next generation and our kids!