Exxon On Way To 32 Billion $$ Profit This Year

[SirLoin]

Makes you think...

Price of Oil before first Gulf War..$14 a barrell

After two Bush administrations(and 2 wars).....$50+(and climbing)

[Torque]

i say we rip Alberta apart and turn the spigots on.

[john9001]

how dare a company post a profit, i demand a congressional investigation.

[Charon]

Exxon won't be alone I predict an enormous ****strom, political grandstanding, investigations with the usual findings... all on the up and up. The oil industry operates as it can in a free capitialistic market. To change that would require some sort of socialist government regulation, and nobody wants that

A bit further downstream, Bush's talk about opening retired military bases to new refiner construction is amusing. Refinery operators are making a good buck now, but the difference between a good buck and margin killing oversupply is so small that it is hard to see the industry willingly creating potential overcapacity, since the current situation works so well... smoke and mirrors, like 90% of the rest of the energy bill.

[edit: Keep in mind too that the marketers/retailers usually get shafted when prices rise with an inverse profit situation compared to the Majors upstream who suck it out of the grouns and sell the crude.  Gasoline is almost not worth selling, except for its usefulness at drawing people to the C-store. Also, the  credit card companies take about 1/2 the existing profits (even more as prices rise and the average spend on the purchase increases beyond various thresholds) out in transation fees to the merchants, and they have a monoploly situation that easily allows them to say FU to just about any merchant. Don't like the fees... don't take credit and watch your volume evaporate. #2 cost of doing business in the industry today.]



Charon

[oboe]

Exxon has still not paid the 4.5 billion punitive damage judgement against it due to the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Prince Edward Sound more than 15 yrs ago - apparently it continues to appeal the award.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill

btw re Bush's energy plan, how does building more refineries reduce our dependence on foreign oil?   Wouldn't we have to import more oil to keep the new refineries supplied?

[Nilsen]

Stop making sense oboe, you are confusing the yokels!

[Charon]

btw re Bush's energy plan, how does building more refineries reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Wouldn't we have to import more oil to keep the new refineries supplied?

It doesn't really. It potentially addresses another issue -- price volatility. The refining industry operates at about 98 percent of capacity during peak demand months. Therefore, whenever there is a refinery fire or any other form of infrastructure disruption you can get short-term price spike considerably above the basic market price with is largely set by OPEC (and others). More refineries would mean more capacity and less impact from disruption and less volatility.

However, when the industry had much more capacity at the end of regulation in 1980, it raced to shed refineries and get to exactly where it is at today. It is hard to see a too many operations taking advantage of the "new opportunities" since even a slight change in demand or can mean vastly reduced profits. They would have to gamble on demand in the US continuing to increase even as prices work against increased demand. Maybe that will be the case. It’s notable, that the majors, who make most of their tremendous profits from exploration and production, are busy selling off much of their refinery capacity (with its lower profits and higher risks) to independents.

Charon

[oboe]

So perhaps Bush's intention is to make refining less risky and more profitable for the majors by giving them land (military bases) and tax incentives and outright subsidies?

I don't know, its strikes me as trying to solve a crack addict's problems by attmepting to lower the price of crack, and making sure the pushers and produces make more mony on it.

[MrLars]

Originally posted by oboe
Exxon has still not paid the 4.5 billion punitive damage judgement against it due to the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Prince Edward Sound more than 15 yrs ago - apparently it continues to appeal the award.

Their appeal of the punitive damages is spot on IMO. It was the Alyeska Pipeline Corp's failure to have their spill containment/cleanup equipment in good working order that slowed the response to the spill. Most of their containment boom was unusable and their skimmers in disrepair along with a lack of training exercises in their use made for an initial response effort that was a dismal failure. That wasn't Exxons fault, all the companies who ship oil from the pipeline contribute to the spill cleanup fund managed, more correctly, mismanaged by the Alyeska Pipeline Co.
 
Also, the Alaska DEC made the situation far worse when they forced a series of dispersant tests before allowing it's use, the emergency plan was in place for the dispersant's use but the DEC's interference caused the window of opportunity to be lost during the first four days where the sea conditions were ideal for dispersant use. They also obstructed the use of insitu burning of contained oil until the sea conditions made that a useless tactic for mitigating the shoreline impact.

I helped document all aspects of that spill in video and still images starting on March, 25 10 AM when we were the first pro film crew allowed onboard the Valdez. My involvement ended in 1995 after a series of wildlife and shoreline surveys.

[Skuzzy]

There is no impetus for any U.S. oil company to do anything.  They are making more money than ever (read net profits are at an all time high).

Our system works as long as corporations do the right thing (whatever that may be), but when greed supplants doing the right thing, the fundamental flaw in our system is revealed.
How many times in the last decade have large corporations laid off thousands of employees and then turn around and pay huge bonuses to the board of directors?

It is all about greed, and this is where our system breaks down.

[2bighorn]

Originally posted by MrLars
Their appeal of the punitive damages is spot on IMO.

Sorry MrLars, I have to strongly disagree. It's like shooter is appealing his life sentence claiming medics are responsible for victim's death arriving too late on the scene and not the shooter who shot the victim in the first place.

[MrLars]

Originally posted by 2bighorn
Sorry MrLars, I have to strongly disagree. It's like shooter is appealing his life sentence claiming medics are responsible for victim's death arriving too late on the scene and not the shooter who shot the victim in the first place.

Was the shooting an accident or done on purpose?

The punitive fine is way out of line considering that this was an accident.

[john9001]

only one person is at fault for the Exxon-Valdez oil spill , the 1st mate who was in command of the bridge when it hit the reef. But of course he dosn't have 4.5 billion so we have to look for the "deep pockets".

[Pongo]

Seems like only yesterday that gasoline was a useless byproduct of making lamp oil and was gotten rid of by dumping it into streams. good thing the profit motive put an end to that.


The drunk captain on the Exon Condolica Rice, opps the Exon Valdez had nothing to do with the oil spill.

[GreenCloud]

dont buy gas from Exxon..Shell..


where is the american gas !!??

btw..

I see Capt Hazelwood driving ur Cvs almost daily..

lololol