Does anyone else find something wrong when Exxon manages to hit near record high profits (second only to their own profit 4th quarter 2005) while American consumers are paying record high prices for gas this past summer?

Read this: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/business/27exxoncnd.html?hp&ex=1161921600&en=1817db4a4603847d&ei=5094&partner=homepage[/url]

and commenting on part of the article:

[QUOTE]Shell’s crude oil production, at 2.05 million barrels a day, was 1 percent lower than a year ago. Onshore production in the Niger Delta has been disrupted lately by hostage taking and attacks by rebel groups, who are demanding that more oil profits go to local Nigerians. The most recent attack took place earlier this week.

Mr. van der Veer said that Shell had seen similar problems in the past, and that he was sure they would be resolved. “We have operated there for decades,” he said. “Often in a run-up to elections, it is a more sensitive period,” he said. Nigerians are due to go to the polls in April 2007. [/QUOTE] Am I misunderstanding this or reading into it too much when this basically translates into "We have a few problems at the moment due to the elections coming, but after the elections we should be right back to unfairly screwing the Nigerians as we always have."?

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

do what NYS did to the bells.... break em up, limit profitability IMHO

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

I mean if you think about it, Exxon with over 10 billion in profit and Shell with over 7 billion during a period of time of record gas prices does sound a lot like collusion to fix the price of gas at the least...kinda like a certain oil cartel, OPEC...

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

1. That translates into $1.77 earnings per share. They'll pay out a dividend, i'm sure, but a large portion will be ploughed back in for future capital expenditures, which are huge thanks to the inflation in the oil industry.

2. Its funny that americans complain about gas prices...cause they pay some of the lowest in the world. you're not allowed to bitch until you move to europe or asia...

3. Where were all these people when oil was $10 a barrel in the '90s and oil companies were having to forgoe projects left and right, and were getting killed on the stock market? commodities are cyclical...some years are great, others are crap. thats the way the market works. anyone who says they believe in free markets, except when companies do really well is kinda hypocritical (not saying you are, ruby...)

and no, there is no price fixing going on...simply put, there are too many companies for it to work and for them to keep it a secret. there are sixteen "super-major" oil companies, many MANY national oil companies, and even more "independant" oil companies, many of which are huge. just basic common sense tells you that with the number of companies in the market there is no way there is collusion going on

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

^^Sound thinking my friend. But realities don't matter much. The masses need something to target when they are feeling angry.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

The article also said:

[QUOTE]ExxonMobil’s chairman, Rex W. Tillerson, said that the per-share figure was buoyed by the company’s share repurchase program, which bought in 126 million shares in the quarter at a cost of $8.4 billion.[/QUOTE] Does that actually mean that had Exxon not bought their shares back that profits would actually have been 19 billion?

Look I understand about the amount of reinvestment that the oil companies do with their profits, but isn't that charged back against profits next quarter when they reinvest it? Doesn't it then become an expense on the sheets? And yet they have exorbitant profits quarter after quarter of late...

Lastly, I don't ever complain about the price of gas in the US, especially not compared to the rest of the world. I argue time and time again that there should be more taxes on oil for two reasons:

1. higher price would/should lower consumption. We're a oil resource hog of a nation and don't ever think twice about our consumption. Maybe higher oil prices would lower the consumption and we wouldn't use as much of it as we do. At least the auto companies would be forced to start thinking about more efficient cars once again, as opposed to the despicable drop in efficiency over the last 25 years.

2. the gov't should use that tax revenue to study alternate fuels. We led the way in the industrial revolution by using oil and it's part of the reason we're such a strong country. If we were to take the lead in alternate fuels, we may be able to stave off the drop to our strength that should be coming as soon as oil runs out...not terribly far off either.

And we may even be able to help the environment at the same time...

and stop enriching these middle eastern and african countries that give no shit about their people and for the most part hate us.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[QUOTE=Lorn;396477]^^Sound thinking my friend. But realities don't matter much. The masses need something to target when they are feeling angry.[/QUOTE] I really resent your "masses" remark...it's insulting, belittling, uncalled for and untrue, at least in regards to this intelligent discussion we've been having.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=rubyraks;396501]I really resent your "masses" remark...it's insulting, belittling, uncalled for and untrue, at least in regards to this intelligent discussion we've been having.[/quote]

No insult intended my friend. I find your remarks quite intelligent. The masses are just that. The masses. As an individual one can stand aside and choose to watch them walk over the cliff. But of course its hard to stand clear of a stampede.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=Lorn;396527]As an individual one can stand aside and choose to watch them walk over the cliff. But of course its hard to stand clear of a stampede.[/quote]

.... that, my ms friends is a great quote.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=rubyraks;396495]

and stop enriching these middle eastern and african countries that give no shit about their people and for the most part hate us.[/quote]

actually...you're number 1 supplier of oil and natrual gas is.........

Canada.

Thank you, please drive ahead.

(ps. I work for an oil company ;) )

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[IMG]http://www.expreso.co.cr/centaurs/posts/bio/meal.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[QUOTE=Lorn;396527]No insult intended my friend. I find your remarks quite intelligent. The masses are just that. The masses. As an individual one can stand aside and choose to watch them walk over the cliff. But of course its hard to stand clear of a stampede.[/QUOTE] Put so eloquently, I withdraw my comments entirely.

[QUOTE=day_for_night;396561]actually...you're number 1 supplier of oil and natrual gas is.........

Canada.

Thank you, please drive ahead.

(ps. I work for an oil company ;) )[/QUOTE] I'm quite aware of that (though most Americans wouldn't have a clue...of that or most other things either :roll: )

But that doesn't change our (as well as Europe's) effect on enriching corrupt Middle Eastern and African governments, whether directly or through inflated oil prices due to our ridiculously over the top demand.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

you mean china & india's demand ;)

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

I think we can all agree that the world is hooked on oil. Can't get enough of it. Obviously something is gonna have to change eventually. What its gonna take for the public to become fixated on another source of energy is beyond me. All I can say is it will happen someday in the future. My guess is towards the end of this century and early into the next.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[COLOR=Silver]I'm one of the ignorant masses previously referred to. [/COLOR][COLOR=Silver] I don't have my finger on the pulse of the global energy game the way some of you do, so please help me understand why it is a coincidence[/COLOR][COLOR=Silver] that twice now in the past 20 months EM has posted their record profits and both times it happened to be when I was paying the highest price for gas in my life.
[/COLOR]

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

because gasoline prices are high when oil prices are, and oil companies make alot of money when oil prices are high because they have relatively fixed costs to produce one barrel of oil.

so...when oil is $20 a barrel, they have to only produce with projects that can produce oil at a cost to them of $5-$10 per barrel. When oil is $70/b then they can take on unconventional projects (ie. shale, coal-bed methane, etc), and still make a huge profit. plus they make unreal money on their regular projects that have low fixed costs. its win-win.

now, why are oil prices high? demand and a lack of supply. china's demand is growing rapidly, no one elses is slowing down, but the worlds supply of oil is running out, and we're left with ever increasingly expensive resources to find. looking for oil in a few thousand feet of water ain't cheap. plus you throw in political risks like iran or nigeria, and hellooooo high oil prices.

the world oil supply over time is shaped like a bell curve. some people believe we have already hit the highest point of production we ever will, and many others believe its not far off when we do. this is called peak oil (the hubert peak... [URL="http://www.peace.ca/oilprices.htm"]www.peace.ca/oilprices.htm[/URL] ) and once we've passed that point its a downhill decent. if you thought $70 oil was hard on your wallet at the pump, get ready for $120 oil within 10 years.

ps. invest in oil companies.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

the excuse that 'the west was allowed to develop, we can harm the environment so we can catch up' isnt valid anymore. the clock is ticking. china and india are ruining the planet way more than everyone else.. they must be convinced that development at any cost is costing us all a planet.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=rubyraks;396452]Does anyone else find something wrong when Exxon manages to hit near record high profits (second only to their own profit 4th quarter 2005) while American consumers are paying record high prices for gas this past summer?[/quote]

Actually, no...it makes a lot of sense. If you pay more for gas...Exxon gets more money from you...and they make more profit. Get it? :)

haha.

ok, aside from being an ass. I personally don't think Exxon is somehow "fixing" the price of gas, because I genuinely don't think Exxon has that power. If they could, why the hell would they have left it a $1.something for all those months? It's supply and demand. And it's interesting to me how most of us Americans seem to think that oil must somehow be immune to market forces which might increase price (now that's just downright un-American!!!).

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=Kobe;396647][COLOR=Silver]I'm one of the ignorant masses previously referred to. [/COLOR][COLOR=Silver] I don't have my finger on the pulse of the global energy game the way some of you do, so please help me understand why it is a coincidence[/COLOR][COLOR=Silver] that twice now in the past 20 months EM has posted their record profits and both times it happened to be when I was paying the highest price for gas in my life.
[/COLOR][/quote]

You pay more, they make more.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=day_for_night;396654]

ps. invest in oil companies.[/quote]

I would have rather invested when oil was at $30/barrel.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=dopla;396665]the excuse that 'the west was allowed to develop, we can harm the environment so we can catch up' isnt valid anymore. the clock is ticking. china and india are ruining the planet way more than everyone else.. they must be convinced that development at any cost is costing us all a planet.[/quote]

uhhh...per capita...no. the US has 4% of the world's population, yet produces 25% of the world's pollution.

Re: Exxon Reports $10.49 Billion Profit in Quarter

[quote=day_for_night;396466]

2. Its funny that americans complain about gas prices...cause they pay some of the lowest in the world. you're not allowed to bitch until you move to europe or asia...

[/quote]

It's because with 300 million people and America that is suburbia America, we travel farther distances to get to our destinations. Unintended Consequences I suppose. Europe and Asia have many other modes of inner-city transportation with also smaller population sizes. Furthermore, a lot of Asians ride bicycles.