Dont Blame the oil companies...

[Gothmog]

Republicans tell us that it isnt the oil companies fault that gas prices are so high, and that they only make 8 cents profit on a a gallon of gas.

well, they said that when gas was less than $3 a gallon, and now that its $4 a gallon, they still say the same thing,

so

Who gets that extra $1 a gallon?

[G. Price]

The price of oil went up. Higher cost for the raw materials translates into higher cost of the finished product. That doesn't seem to hard to understand.

[Turbo RX-6]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

Republicans tell us that it isnt the oil companies fault that gas prices are so high, and that they only make 8 cents profit on a a gallon of gas.

well, they said that when gas was less than $3 a gallon, and now that its $4 a gallon, they still say the same thing,

so

Who gets that extra $1 a gallon?

Your kidding right, no way you just posted that, when the Democrats gained control of the Senate, barely a year ago, oil was around $57 a barrel, now it's around $140 a barrel, the cost of crude has more than doubled, were do you think the extra moneys going.

[Gothmog]

Originally Posted by G. Price

The price of oil went up. Higher cost for the raw materials translates into higher cost of the finished product. That doesn't seem to hard to understand.

That works...with food for instance.(not oil) Purdue makes 8cents per chicken, and then their cost to deliver the chicken to the SHoprite went up by 50cents because of fuel, so they raise the price of the chicken 50cents and thus they continue to make 8 cents per chicken profit.

this doesnt work with oil, because their costs (overhead) havent increased by 100%, like the price has

[NM Tom]

Oil is a WORLD market. The US oil companies cannot control the world market with what we produce. OPEC has much more control than the US oil companies. I guess "big gold" is responsible for the rising gold prices...

[Gothmog]

Originally Posted by Turbo RX-6

Your kidding right, no way you just posted that, when the Democrats gained control of the Senate, barely a year ago, oil was around $57 a barrel, now it's around $140 a barrel, the cost of crude has more than doubled, were do you think the extra moneys going.

you dont understand economics?

I'm asking you, if the price of a commodity YOU own raises, how do YOU not make money..since your costs have not increased. If you have a pile of gold worth $100 and the democrats cause the price to go up to $1000 for that pile, how can you claim poverty?

[Gothmog]

Originally Posted by NM Tom

Oil is a WORLD market. The US oil companies cannot control the world market with what we produce. OPEC has much more control than the US oil companies. I guess "big gold" is responsible for the rising gold prices...

so your answer is that the oil companies arent making any additional money, and that OPEC is making all the profits?

[Black Power]

I am about as Republican as it gets, but I am pretty sure big oil IS screwing with us.


I mainly blame OPEC, but I wouldn't be surprised if the USA big oil boys don't have a a big hand in this as well.

[whitehot84]

Originally Posted by Black Power

I am about as Republican as it gets, but I am pretty sure big oil IS screwing with us.


I mainly blame OPEC, but I wouldn't be surprised if the USA big oil boys don't have a a big hand in this as well.

I think 30 billion a quarter speaks for itself. Pure profit. Diesel fuel is a by-product and has passed the gas prices. If this is not price gouging what is it ???? Back in the day they hung thieves for this kind of thing.

[BlownZ]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

That works...with food for instance.(not oil) Purdue makes 8cents per chicken, and then their cost to deliver the chicken to the SHoprite went up by 50cents because of fuel, so they raise the price of the chicken 50cents and thus they continue to make 8 cents per chicken profit.

this doesnt work with oil, because their costs (overhead) havent increased by 100%, like the price has

Goth...why do you do this to yourself?

The cost of crude oil is up so the raw materials cost has actually doubled....despite what your Mr. Wizard pocket protector tells you.

Factories run on oil and fuel....another price increase.

Fuel needs to be transported to stations....on trucks....that use gas....which is way up.....another price increase.

If chicken is up because of fuel, then everything is up because of fuel, including fuel.

Please....seriously....count to 10 before you type any posts again.

[G. Price]

Goth, What scares me is I think you truly believe the things you type here.

Unlike you, I'm pretty sure the Dem's in Washington know what they are saying is nonsense and they are only saying it because it gives them political advantage.

The only question for me is.... Which is more dangerous?

[V8Assassin]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

That works...with food for instance.(not oil) Purdue makes 8cents per chicken, and then their cost to deliver the chicken to the SHoprite went up by 50cents because of fuel, so they raise the price of the chicken 50cents and thus they continue to make 8 cents per chicken profit.

this doesnt work with oil, because their costs (overhead) havent increased by 100%, like the price has

Crying for an oil company is about like crying for an insurance company, but it is a competitive market and social policies have alot to do with the price of energy in this country.

The industry lineup was formidable: Robert Malone, Chairman and President of BP America, Inc.; John Hofmeister, President, Shell Oil Company; Peter Robertson, Vice Chairman of the Board, Chevron Corporation; John Lowe, Executive Vice President, Conoco Philips Company; and Stephen Simon, Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil Corporation. Not surprisingly, the petroleum executives stole the show, as they were far smarter, infinitely better informed, and much more public-spirited than the Senate Democrats.

One theme that emerged from the hearing was the surprisingly small role played by American oil companies in the global petroleum market. John Lowe pointed out:

I cannot overemphasize the access issue. Access to resources is severely restricted in the United States and abroad, and the American oil industry must compete with national oil companies who are often much larger and have the support of their governments.
We can only compete directly for 7 percent of the world's available reserves while about 75 percent is completely controlled by national oil companies and is not accessible.


Stephen Simon amplified:

Exxon Mobil is the largest U.S. oil and gas company, but we account for only 2 percent of global energy production, only 3 percent of global oil production, only 6 percent of global refining capacity, and only 1 percent of global petroleum reserves. With respect to petroleum reserves, we rank 14th. Government-owned national oil companies dominate the top spots. For an American company to succeed in this competitive landscape and go head to head with huge government-backed national oil companies, it needs financial strength and scale to execute massive complex energy projects requiring enormous long-term investments.
To simply maintain our current operations and make needed capital investments, Exxon Mobil spends nearly $1 billion each day.

Because foreign companies and governments control the overwhelming majority of the world's oil, most of the price you pay at the pump is the cost paid by the American oil company to acquire crude oil from someone else:

Last year, the average price in the United States of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was around $2.80. On average in 2007, approximately 58 percent of the price reflected the amount paid for crude oil. Consumers pay for that crude oil, and so do we.
Of the 2 million barrels per day Exxon Mobil refined in 2007 here in the United States, 90 percent were purchased from others.

Another theme of the day's testimony was that, if anyone is "gouging" consumers through the high price of gasoline, it is federal and state governments, not American oil companies. On the average, 15% percent of the cost of gasoline at the pump goes for taxes, while only 4% represents oil company profits. These figures were repeated several times, but, strangely, not a single Democratic Senator proposed relieving consumers' anxieties about gas prices by reducing taxes.

The last theme that was sounded repeatedly was Congress's responsibility for the fact that American companies have access to so little petroleum. Shell's John Hofmeister explained, eloquently:

While all oil-importing nations buy oil at global prices, some, notably India and China, subsidize the cost of oil products to their nation's consumers, feeding the demand for more oil despite record prices. They do this to speed economic growth and to ensure a competitive advantage relative to other nations.
Meanwhile, in the United States, access to our own oil and gas resources has been limited for the last 30 years, prohibiting companies such as Shell from exploring and developing resources for the benefit of the American people.

Senator Sessions, I agree, it is not a free market.

According to the Department of the Interior, 62 percent of all on-shore federal lands are off limits to oil and gas developments, with restrictions applying to 92 percent of all federal lands. We have an outer continental shelf moratorium on the Atlantic Ocean, an outer continental shelf moratorium on the Pacific Ocean, an outer continental shelf moratorium on the eastern Gulf of Mexico, congressional bans on on-shore oil and gas activities in specific areas of the Rockies and Alaska, and even a congressional ban on doing an analysis of the resource potential for oil and gas in the Atlantic, Pacific and eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The Argonne National Laboratory did a report in 2004 that identified 40 specific federal policy areas that halt, limit, delay or restrict natural gas projects. I urge you to review it. It is a long list. If I may, I offer it today if you would like to include it in the record.

When many of these policies were implemented, oil was selling in the single digits, not the triple digits we see now. The cumulative effect of these policies has been to discourage U.S. investment and send U.S. companies outside the United States to produce new supplies.

As a result, U.S. production has declined so much that nearly 60 percent of daily consumption comes from foreign sources.

The problem of access can be solved in this country by the same government that has prohibited it. Congress could have chosen to lift some or all of the current restrictions on exportation and production of oil and gas. Congress could provide national policy to reverse the persistent decline of domestically secure natural resource development.


Later in the hearing, Senator Orrin Hatch walked Hofmeister through the Democrats' latest efforts to block energy independence:

HATCH: I want to get into that. In other words, we're talking about Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. It's fair to say that they're not considered part of America's $22 billion of proven reserves.
HOFMEISTER: Not at all.

HATCH: No, but experts agree that there's between 800 billion to almost 2 trillion barrels of oil that could be recoverable there, and that's good oil, isn't it?

HOFMEISTER: That's correct.

HATCH: It could be recovered at somewhere between $30 and $40 a barrel?

HOFMEISTER: I think those costs are probably a bit dated now, based upon what we've seen in the inflation...

HATCH: Well, somewhere in that area.

HOFMEISTER: I don't know what the exact cost would be, but, you know, if there is more supply, I think inflation in the oil industry would be cracked. And we are facing severe inflation because of the limited amount of supply against the demand.

HATCH: I guess what I'm saying, though, is that if we started to develop the oil shale in those three states we could do it within this framework of over $100 a barrel and make a profit.

HOFMEISTER: I believe we could.

HATCH: And we could help our country alleviate its oil pressures.

HOFMEISTER: Yes.

HATCH: But they're stopping us from doing that right here, as we sit here. We just had a hearing last week where Democrats had stopped the ability to do that, in at least Colorado.

HOFMEISTER: Well, as I said in my opening statement, I think the public policy constraints on the supply side in this country are a disservice to the American consumer.


The committee's Democrats attempted no response. They know that they are largely responsible for the current high price of gasoline, and they want the price to rise even further. Consequently, they have no intention of permitting the development of domestic oil and gas reserves that would both increase this country's energy independence and give consumers a break from constantly increasing energy costs.
Every once in a while, Congressional hearings turn out to be informative.

[BLACK6PACK]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

Republicans tell us that it isnt the oil companies fault that gas prices are so high, and that they only make 8 cents profit on a a gallon of gas.

well, they said that when gas was less than $3 a gallon, and now that its $4 a gallon, they still say the same thing,

so

Who gets that extra $1 a gallon?

OMG! You didn't just type that did you? The cost of crude has doubled in the last year, we're lucky gas hasn't gone to $6 a gallon. Yes there are economies of scale that help keep the cost from doubling. So in your non-economical mind since crude has doubled in cost in the last year, the price of gas should be half of what it was last year. I mean, that's about as logical as your original post. Have you not read any of what has been posted here about how gas prices work? It makes me think that you can't learn anything new. You got your big history degree from college and must have flunked math and econ 101. Its a good thing you studied history, cuz you definately cant learn anything new and look at the future with a logical mind.

[plowboy72]

Why are they recording record profits if their overhead has good through the roof? Now i understand they only control a piece of the market and opec controls the price of crude. But what about the record profits? When oil people push to get you elected how do you repay them?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Exxon Mobil made history on Friday by reporting the highest quarterly and annual profits ever for a U.S. company, boosted in large part by soaring crude prices.

Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said fourth-quarter net income rose 14% to $11.66 billion, or $2.13 per share. The company earned $10.25 billion, or $1.76 per share, in the year-ago period.

The profit topped Exxon's previous quarterly record of $10.7 billion, set in the fourth quarter of 2005, which also was an all-time high for a U.S. corporation.

"Exxon can put out some amazing numbers and this is one of those cases," said Jason Gammel, senior analyst at Macquarie Securities in New York.

Exxon also set an annual profit record by earning $40.61 billion last year - or nearly $1,300 per second in 2007. That exceeded its previous record of $39.5 billion in 2006.

In the fourth quarter, the company said revenue rose 29.5% from a year ago to $116.64 billion.

Analysts were looking for the company to report quarterly profit of $10.36 billion on revenue of $114.9 billion, according to earnings tracker Thomson Financial.

Despite topping Wall Street's estimates, Exxon (XOM, Fortune 500) shares slipped in afternoon trading.

The company reported strong results in its worldwide exploration and production, or "upstream," business. Profit rose 32% to $8.2 billion during the quarter, offsetting some weakness earlier in the year.

Income in Exxon's refining, or "downstream," business rose 15.7% during the quarter to $2.27 billion.

Exxon attributed its impressive results to strong performance across its divisions, but a large part of the profit surge was underpinned by climbing oil prices.

Crude prices skyrocketed nearly 60% last year. The surge helped prices break through the $100 a barrel mark for the first time ever early last month. Since crossing that milestone, prices have eased to around $90 a barrel.

Natural gas prices also jumped last year, albeit marginally. But costs have also increased for the oil companies, which is why profits haven't risen as rapidly as crude prices.

Big oil companies that both pump oil and refine crude into gasoline have to spend more for crude but are unable to pass on all the extra cost to consumers, which eats in to gasoline profit margins.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline hit an all-time high of $3.23 in May, according to the motorist organization AAA. The high prices were blamed on strong demand and a series of accidents that shut down refineries in the U.S. But slack demand for gasoline in the latter half of last year kept gas prices from rising as dramatically as crude prices.

Exxon's record results, which coincide with smaller rival Chevron's (CVX, Fortune 500) profit jump, drew some fire from both government officials and consumer rights groups, who have argued previously that the the oil industry is deliberately restricting supply and profiting on the back of U.S. motorists.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. took a swipe at the two firms, calling on fellow lawmakers to break the country's dependence on foreign oil and rollback unnecessary tax incentives for oil companies.

Judy Dugan, research director of The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, urged Congress to initiate some oversight into unregulated energy trading markets, which have been accused of helping to drive up the price of oil.

"Exxon is happy to take advantage of these prices," said Dugan.

But finding oil has also become more costly. The oil boom has led to a surge in exploration and drilling activity, which has pushed up the price for skilled workers and equipment.

Furthermore, new supplies of oil are increasingly difficult to find and generally tend to be located in harder to reach - and hence more expensive - places. The new natural gas field discovered this week by Brazil's Petrobras lies three miles under the ocean.

ExxonMobil representatives also stressed the cyclical nature of the business and noted that growing global demand for energy will require companies to heavily invest in future growth. The company said it estimates that global demand will grow by 30 percent by 2030.

"The challenge for all of us in the industry is how to we meet that increased demand," said Henry Hubble, vice president of investor relations.

Exxon and Chevron aren't the only two oil giants to report impressive earnings recently. Conoco (COP, Fortune 500), the nation's third-largest oil company, trounced profit estimates by nearly 25% when it reported last week. And Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, reported a 60% increase in profits Thursday.

[plowboy72]

love it where it says they made $1,300 a second! Poor oil companies!

[IEATV8S]

I think those nasty old oil companies should send EVERY CITIZEN a check for $10,000, and $20,000 for every black and Hispanic (Cause des poor den the Whitey!). They should be FORCED, as a private company to only make 3% over their COSTS and to hell with drilling, let's get them Chinese in here doing it!!!!! They can do it cheaper, cause they only make $4 an hour, so we can get our own cheap oil. Matter of fact, let put ALL those oil companies OUT OF BUSINESS, hire Chinese drillers, and lay off 250,000 American workers that currently work for the oil companies. After all they work for that wicked BIG OIL, and they deserve to be on UNEMPLOYMENT!

The following was what the leftist/socialists REALLY WANT!

Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood NEO-CON!!

[BlackoutDrunk]

I was reading about oil refinery shut downs. A quick google search can show a lot of articles and research material. OPEC is messing with us but don't say that Big Oil companies aren't messing with us also. View Appearance | C-SPAN Congressional Chronicle, Created by Cable. Offered as a Public Service.

Bizmology » Blog Archive » Why aren’t there more oil refineries in the US?

buying refineries to shut them down - Google Search

[V8Assassin]

Again, it is hard to cry for the oil companies, but did you see where Exon is spending 1 billion a day in capital expenditures. That is 365 billion a year, even with small profit margins against that type of expenditure profits tend to add up quickly. I am not saying they aren't taking advantage of speculative markets driving up the price of oil, obviously they are. Keep in mind U.S. oil companies are already the highest taxed public companies in the world. Much of our increased energy prices can be traced back to faulty social policies brought on by the need for politicians to buy votes at the long term expense of us all. These very politicans are now the ones clamoring to find out how to tax these companies more instead of looking at how they have played a major part in causing the problem.

[plowboy72]

i agree with most of what you said sir. Except that a 365 billion a year isn't that bad when you still profit like that! Spend a billion a day and still make $1,300 a second!

[V8Assassin]

Originally Posted by IEATV8S

I think those nasty old oil companies should send EVERY CITIZEN a check for $10,000, and $20,000 for every black and Hispanic (Cause des poor den the Whitey!). They should be FORCED, as a private company to only make 3% over their COSTS and to hell with drilling, let's get them Chinese in here doing it!!!!! They can do it cheaper, cause they only make $4 an hour, so we can get our own cheap oil. Matter of fact, let put ALL those oil companies OUT OF BUSINESS, hire Chinese drillers, and lay off 250,000 American workers that currently work for the oil companies. After all they work for that wicked BIG OIL, and they deserve to be on UNEMPLOYMENT!

The following was what the leftist/socialists REALLY WANT!

Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood NEO-CON!!

I've got an even better idea, why not just form a national oil company like Bahrain Petroleum Company, National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company, or Kuwait Oil Company. Then the goverment could run the whole operation and Pelosi could decide which class of people deserve which energy resources and "redistribute them accordingly".

Yeah, a state run energy company to compliment the new Socialist way of life. Maybe her best bud Obama will send some much needed subsidies to our "friends" like Palestine, for that matter he could just have his new sit down buddy President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to help him figure out how to run that big ole complicated energy company.

[V8Assassin]

Originally Posted by plowboy72

i agree with most of what you said sir. Except that a 365 billion a year isn't that bad when you still profit like that! Spend a billion a day and still make $1,300 a second!

I agree 100% with what you are saying and your reasoning. 1300 sec is 112,320,000/day or 40.9 billion/year. Based on the above expenditure that would make a profit margin of 11.23%. That is not really outrageous. Most business's expect at least a 10% margin. Remember these are publicly traded companies whose primary responsibility is to their stockholders. No one was trying to give these companies money when oil was trading for 12/brl back in the late 90's. The business of drilling/exploring for oil is very expensive and dangerous. It takes extremely large investments that take extensive long term planning. All of this, of course, is dependent on political changes, climate changes, natural disasters and a ton of other risk.

Long story short, these are public companies that compete on a world market for precious, scarce resources against goverment backed competitors. I won't lose any sleep over their plight tonight, but in the end our way of life is predicated on them being sucessful and remaining profitable. Could you seriously imagine what would happen to our economy if Exon went under? Better yet if the goverment did decide to "nationalize" oil production and distribution?

[a trail rider]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

Republicans tell us that it isnt the oil companies fault that gas prices are so high, and that they only make 8 cents profit on a a gallon of gas.

well, they said that when gas was less than $3 a gallon, and now that its $4 a gallon, they still say the same thing,

so

Who gets that extra $1 a gallon?

They make about an 8-10% profit, not just 8 cents per gallon. A common gas station makes close to 8 cents per gallon.

Originally Posted by Gothmog

That works...with food for instance.(not oil) Purdue makes 8cents per chicken, and then their cost to deliver the chicken to the SHoprite went up by 50cents because of fuel, so they raise the price of the chicken 50cents and thus they continue to make 8 cents per chicken profit.

this doesnt work with oil, because their costs (overhead) havent increased by 100%, like the price has

Food, like oil, is a commodity. The difference is, nearly anyone could supply their own food and most people can't supply their own oil. However, nobody individually has to have oil when it comes right down to it... Everyone needs food.

The cost of oil has risen immensely since late 2006. With that, everything else we purchase, except those goods made and sold locally, also increases in price if that business wants to stay in business. That's "economics 101." The overhead of oil companies goes up regularly. It simply doesn't rise as quickly as it did in yrs past. They still have to pay employees and repair facilities and purchase new equipment on basically a daily basis... Once you own the chicken coupe, something might tell you it's a tad less expensive to operate than an oil well or refinery... And you don't have to keep looking for a place to build a chicken coupe.

The bottom line here is, MARGIN... Profit margins for chicken companies is far greater than oil companies in general.

Originally Posted by Gothmog

you dont understand economics?

I'm asking you, if the price of a commodity YOU own raises, how do YOU not make money..since your costs have not increased. If you have a pile of gold worth $100 and the democrats cause the price to go up to $1000 for that pile, how can you claim poverty?

Oil companies don't often own the oil, they buy it. They COULD own it, and in cases, do. But usually they buy it from someone else who owns it. At the sellers price, by the way.

None of this is to say oil companies can't or don't profit in a big way... They do. They make billions on diesel fuel alone, as it costs them essentially nothing. However, the big profits really go to those selling crude. It costs countries like Saudi Arabia about $2.00 to produce a barrel of oil. They sell that barrel for about $135.00. Who really makes the profits there? And those countries don't have to confront the tax man or be called to Capitol Hill to explain themselves or their actions... So we should drill here, drill now, and pay less... The mere idea that we may purchase less oil from foriegn countries could significantly drop the price of crude practically overnight.

And we've recently learned that US tax dollars help pay for fuel of European use... To the tune of $1.00 per gallon for bio-fuels.

[IEATV8S]

Originally Posted by V8Assassin

I've got an even better idea, why not just form a national oil company like Bahrain Petroleum Company, National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company, or Kuwait Oil Company. Then the goverment could run the whole operation and Pelosi could decide which class of people deserve which energy resources and "redistribute them accordingly".

Yeah, a state run energy company to compliment the new Socialist way of life. Maybe her best bud Obama will send some much needed subsidies to our "friends" like Palestine, for that matter he could just have his new sit down buddy President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to help him figure out how to run that big ole complicated energy company.

Sounds like a great idea! We see how they run Socual Security, and what they want to do to healthcare, hell, oil companies should be a walk in the park for those Pelosi and Reid fans!

[Black Power]

Hell I love how they run the post office too! Nothing like scheduling 10 employees to run the counter early in the morning but only 1 or 2 when it gets busy there

[BlownZ]

Originally Posted by plowboy72

i agree with most of what you said sir. Except that a 365 billion a year isn't that bad when you still profit like that! Spend a billion a day and still make $1,300 a second!

Whether you think its fair or not, our entire economic system is built around a free market.

If Exxon came on hard times and was losing money, would you be willing to send them a check to subsidize the loss?

I don't like paying high gas prices any more than anyone but facts are facts and either you are in favor of a free market economy or you aren't.

You can't pick and choose which companies should be allowed to make a profit and which companies shouldn't be allowed. We're paying the price for the government we've elected all these years.

We've been in bed with the Middle East and bowing to the environmentalist whackos that have lobbied for us not to be able to drill and develop our own oil supply.

We've let lobbyists kill any serious chances at alternative energy sources for the last 30 years.

If you want a culprit, look in the mirror, look around you. It's US. We keep letting our government let us down with no repercussions. We're more worried about who slept with who or who said what in church than we are about holding them accountable for their actions.

Every thread on here about Obama and his reverend or Hillary and Monica or McCain and his wife's taxes are a big pile of steaming dung that DOESN'T MATTER. It's STUPID.

What does matter is that we let lobbyists run this country, we let money rule the day, we let politicians have an absolute free ride and probably literally get away with murder.

We get what we deserve.

Now let's talk about whether Obama is a Muslim some more. That's super important.

[Gothmog]

Originally Posted by BlownZ

Goth...why do you do this to yourself?

The cost of crude oil is up so the raw materials cost has actually doubled....despite what your Mr. Wizard pocket protector tells you.

Factories run on oil and fuel....another price increase.

Fuel needs to be transported to stations....on trucks....that use gas....which is way up.....another price increase.

If chicken is up because of fuel, then everything is up because of fuel, including fuel.

Please....seriously....count to 10 before you type any posts again.

I could understand the price of gas which comes from oil going up when the price of oil goes up, but the argument that the republicans have made is that when the price of oil goes up, the oil companies arent making additional profit, which is plain false

and again, its NOT a free market, if it were, someon would swoop in with $3.50 a gallon gasoline and put everyone else out of business, THATS how the free market works

[V8Assassin]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

I could understand the price of gas which comes from oil going up when the price of oil goes up, but the argument that the republicans have made is that when the price of oil goes up, the oil companies arent making additional profit, which is plain false

and again, its NOT a free market, if it were, someon would swoop in with $3.50 a gallon gasoline and put everyone else out of business, THATS how the free market works

Goth you are correct in one thing, the price of oil is going up.

[IEATV8S]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

I could understand the price of gas which comes from oil going up when the price of oil goes up, but the argument that the republicans have made is that when the price of oil goes up, the oil companies arent making additional profit, which is plain false

and again, its NOT a free market, if it were, someon would swoop in with $3.50 a gallon gasoline and put everyone else out of business, THATS how the free market works

You mind putting up a link to your supposed Republican statement? I haven't heard that one yet!

With gas, why would ANY oil company undercut all the others by $1.00? All they have to do is be 2-3 cents a gallon cheaper and most people will go to that station! Perhaps a holdover from when gas was 25 cents a gallon, and a penny was a BIG DEAL!

[Gothmog]

Originally Posted by IEATV8S

You mind putting up a link to your supposed Republican statement? I haven't heard that one yet!
:

just contact the RNC and ask for the talking points

this is all day everday on Hannity, Oreilly Rush, and Fauxnews

[NM Tom]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

so your answer is that the oil companies arent making any additional money, and that OPEC is making all the profits?

The oil companies profit MARGIN is about 15%, which is not out of line. This margin amount has not changed much the past few years. Their profit AMOUNT is in record territory only because the REVENUE is also in record territory. Profit amount means nothing, profit as a % of revenue is whats important and that has not changed.

[BLACK6PACK]

Gothy thinks the demand for oil is down, actually he is stating it as fact. So if demand was down, then it would be hard to justify the oil company's profits. Problem is, demand is up, they are producing more product than ever, hence the highest profits ever.

If I make $10 on every $100 Tornado (to up fuel milage) I sell, and have been selling 1000 Tornados a year, that gives me a profit of $10,000. Now that fuel prices are high, I'm selling 100,000,000 tornados a year, which gives me a $1Billion profit. Did I change my profit model any? No, I'm still making 10% profit, the demand is what is generating my record profits.

[TURBOPOWERED68]

You guys are as gullible as the 16 year old girl that thinks her rich 55 year old neighbor really loves her.

All of the big oil companies made record profits in the billions for the ¼ and they are still getting 17 or 18 billion in tax brakes that they “have to have in order to stay a float”

The saddest part about you guys is that you all make very good points at time, but the hatred for the other side doesn’t allow you to see that its them (politicians) as a hole that are F*cking you and every one else.
It’s even more amazing that one of the oldest war tactics (divide and concur) is still so effective in this era.
Let me help you see it for what it really is.

THE ONLY DEFERENCE BETWEEN ALL POLITICIANS IS THAT SOME GET CAUGHT AND SOME DON’T.
So go ahead and make a full of your self defending them.

[UNGN]

Originally Posted by TURBOPOWERED68

You guys are as gullible as the 16 year old girl that thinks her rich 55 year old neighbor really loves her.

All of the big oil companies made record profits in the billions for the ¼ and they are still getting 17 or 18 billion in tax brakes that they “have to have in order to stay a float”

The saddest part about you guys is that you all make very good points at time, but the hatred for the other side doesn’t allow you to see that its them (politicians) as a hole that are F*cking you and every one else.
It’s even more amazing that one of the oldest war tactics (divide and concur) is still so effective in this era.
Let me help you see it for what it really is.

THE ONLY DEFERENCE BETWEEN ALL POLITICIANS IS THAT SOME GET CAUGHT AND SOME DON’T.
So go ahead and make a full of your self defending them.

If we eliminated every tax break big oil paid, exactly how would that make gasoline cheaper?

The tax breaks they get are for them to "invest in alternative forms of energy" and to Drill in areas of the US that may not be profitible.

The Liberal always cry we are "dependent on Foreign oil", but offer tax breaks to incentivise American production of oil and this turns into us "Giving away" billions to "Big Oil".

It isn't about "hating" the other side. It's the other side not allowing us to drill in barren wastelands, with proven oil reserves, because it is a "wilderness".

I have said it before, I have a gas well going in UNDER MY HOUSE.

F*** ANWR and the LIBERALS in Congress if they can't share the pain of a well going in where some whiner doesn't want one.

[IEATV8S]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

just contact the RNC and ask for the talking points

this is all day everday on Hannity, Oreilly Rush, and Fauxnews

Then PUT UP A LINK!!!! Shall I make this LIE #6 for today? No link, it's another GOTH LIE!!!!!!!

[BlownZ]

Originally Posted by Gothmog

I could understand the price of gas which comes from oil going up when the price of oil goes up, but the argument that the republicans have made is that when the price of oil goes up, the oil companies arent making additional profit, which is plain false

and again, its NOT a free market, if it were, someon would swoop in with $3.50 a gallon gasoline and put everyone else out of business, THATS how the free market works

1st it is a free market. The fact that nobody has come in with 3.50 a gallon gas TELLS YOU that it isn't possible currently. How many ways can you spell DUH.

2nd when grown ups talk about not making additional profit, they are talking about it as a percent of sales. Their dollar profits may indeed be up but so are sales, so as a percentage of revenue, it's the same.

This is pretty commonly accepted accounting practices. You measure a companies profit as a percent of sales to be able to compare the efficiencies. Exxon was making somewhere sub double digit profit the last time I looked, which is far less than many corporations.

If you want to feign outrage and get all upset over something...take a look at the operating profit of the drug companies. You will think Exxon is a choir boy after that.

Goth..simply admit you were wrong rather than arguing a point that you can't defend.