Oil prices and profits

Posted by: MattJ

Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 11:46 AM

I'm sensing a pattern here -

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11098458/

Quote:

DALLAS - Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — as the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company benefited from high oil and natural-gas prices and solid demand for refined products.


Posted by: clmibb

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 01:08 PM

Just a little FYI. I talked to my husband today and he was telling me that gas is supposed to get close to $4/gallon this summer. He works off shore for a major oil company and it's the rumor circulating out there. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

Casey
Posted by: schanne

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 03:21 PM


$2.66 per gallon and climbing in South Jersey. It's pure American corporate greed. It's summer and they know the driving picks up in the spring time....bend over folks that time of year!!! Our wonderful president could give a flying F either....has to search out all those weapons of mass destruction....Oh did he find them yet?
Posted by: Dereck

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 05:09 PM

I live in Alberta ... we have tons of oil. We process the oil here and the government makes a killing on it. We are paying $1.01/Litre for bronze which I believe is $3.82/US Gallon. This is highway robbery. Then hoping to make Albertans feel good about being over charged for their gas they had profit sharing cheques sent in 2006 to every Alberta citizen for the sum of $400 CAD. I don't get it?
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 05:40 PM

Funny how these articles never say how much profit the government makes from Exxon Mobil – keeping in mind that the Gov has ZERO over head no R&D cost no infrastructure cost nothing all they do is take.

But this approach typically leads to comments similar to making them “ pay their fair share”. But nobody seems to have an answer for the “fair share of what?” question.

I guess I just want to know when “profit” became a bad word, and taxes became a way to “get even”.

Just my .02
-JBC-
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/27/07 05:42 PM

Quote:

Oh did he find them yet?



Actually; yes some where found – but for some reason they are not the “right kind” so they got blown off.

-JBC-
Posted by: Cord

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 02:22 AM

Quote:


$2.66 per gallon and climbing in South Jersey.




Here in the UK we are paying, and have been for years, $6+ per US gallon, so you will forgive me if I dont cry too much over your tragic increases

Of course,if you car industry supported a responsible environmental policy, and produced sensible economic cars, not lumbering big block V8's, then you wouldnt feel the increase as much would you?
Posted by: ExCon

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 02:33 AM

Quote:

I live in Alberta ... we have tons of oil. We process the oil here and the government makes a killing on it. We are paying $1.01/Litre for bronze which I believe is $3.82/US Gallon. This is highway robbery. Then hoping to make Albertans feel good about being over charged for their gas they had profit sharing cheques sent in 2006 to every Alberta citizen for the sum of $400 CAD. I don't get it?


I live in Alberta too and I work in the oil patch. I plan on starting a new type of business, one which nobody is doing right now. I want to have the first company in the world to do this and I want to be rich too!
Posted by: Bushi_no_ki

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 06:37 AM

Ok, first things first, the Oil companies are entitled to some profit (why else be in business), but that is obscene when there are people who are sacrificing to make ends meet. I'm not getting an extra $200 this summer to pay for gas.

Europeans, I understand you feeling a little less sympathetic on this matter, but also remember that in most of western Europe, a vehicle isn't so much of a necessity as it would be for someone who lives way out in the middle of nowhere. There is other forms of transportation that are far more reliable than what America offers.
I however, grew up in an area where a car is a necessity. In fact, it still is. Public transportation in this area is nothing resembling what it would be for a city of comparable size in England or Italay
Posted by: Cord

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 07:29 AM

Quote:

Public transportation in this area is nothing resembling what it would be for a city of comparable size in England or Italay




Cant speak for Italy, but with the exception of london's famous tube and bus infrastructure, the rest of the UK's public transport systems is a farce. The train network has numerous regional private companies running segments of the nations tracks, and attempting (badly) to coordinate the system together. Travelling by train is both slow, and hugely expensive: It is cheaper to fly anywhere in europe and the med from the UK, than it is to take a train point to point within the country- crazy but true.
Buses are no better, with unreliable services, and restrictive timetabling making them unsuitable for the vast majority of the public.

cars are as much of a necessity to UK families/workers as to our transatlantic cousins, we just have to pay more for them, and for our fuel, whilst simultaneously having a lower average wage.

not b1tching, just pointing out that you guys shouldn't either. you have had, and will still have, the cheapest fuel prices in the developed world.
Posted by: Ed_Morris

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 07:36 AM

the business tactics seem to parallel those of what organized narcotic gangs would use.

The 'resource wars' have only just begun....the 'winner' gets to be the dealer, the loser becomes the middleman.

The demand is the non-alternative addiction to their product....
Posted by: Leo_E_49

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 08:36 AM

Quote:

Cant speak for Italy, but with the exception of london's famous tube and bus infrastructure, the rest of the UK's public transport systems is a farce.




I second that. If you want to see a great citywide public transport system in action, check out Singapore. With it's MRT, LRT and excellent bus system, it's got to be one of the best public transportation systems in the world. Not to mention the various transportation means are well maintained, punctual, affordable and clean. It's easy to live in Singapore without a car.
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 08:58 AM

Quote:

Here in the UK we are paying, and have been for years, $6+ per US gallon



how much of that cost is Tax?

Quote:

Oil companies are entitled to some profit (why else be in business), but that is obscene



How can you say it is obscene? They deal in commodities; their profit is not much more than .10 per gallon. Where as the Gov profits (taxes) from every step from discovery to the sale – any profit that the company makes is easily duplicated or surpassed by taxes – that is obscene.

Combine taxes with regulations – how many different formulas for the different seasons and the different zones – again the government unnecessarily adding cost and meddling where they should stay the F… out.

-JBC-

Question: When these “savior” alternative fuels come on line, who will have the infrastructure, and the logistics in place to distribute them?
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 09:19 AM

Quote:

their profit is not much more than .10 per gallon.




Not sure I get your point. The oil companies have essentially a "captive market" ie; not much in the way of non-petroleum based transportation alternatives, so the volume they sell more than makes up for the tiny per-gallon profits. Did you see the link in the original post?

Quote:

Where as the Gov profits (taxes) from every step from discovery to the sale – any profit that the company makes is easily duplicated or surpassed by taxes – that is obscene.




This is no different for any other company, or even self-employed person in the USA. My wife is a real estate agent, so I know, believe me.

Quote:

Combine taxes with regulations – how many different formulas for the different seasons and the different zones – again the government unnecessarily adding cost and meddling where they should stay the F… out.




I agree that there are too many taxes and non-uniform regulations. That is not to say that taxes and regulations are unneccesssary.

Quote:

Question: When these “savior” alternative fuels come on line, who will have the infrastructure, and the logistics in place to distribute them?




Depends on what the "alternative" is, doesn't it?
Posted by: Cord

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 09:26 AM

Undoubtedly much of the cost is elevated by taxation. the joy of a 'politicaly correct' govt. means that every year the powers that be increase tax way over the cost of inflation on fuel, tobacco and alcohol. the chancellor justifies this by saying it is an attempt to encourage the man in the street to quit smoking, lower alcohol consumption, and use public transport. The reality is, that it is a cynical strategy to squeeze as much cash out of the countries most popular consumer products.
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 11:05 AM

Their volume is my point – how could the per-gallon profit be considered obscene. My problem is everybody always blames the evil company but never considers the government impact. They will scream gouging but have zero compulsion for raising taxes. Again the Gov has ZERO over head but generates as much or more revenue than the company does and nobody seems to care or notice. Imagine the article that started off “The United States Government posted record profits on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year - as the world’s only super power benefited from high oil and natural-gas prices and solid demand for refined products.” It easily could, but I think we both know it will NEVER happen.

Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that taxes are wrong, but somewhere along the line taxes stopped being about Government revenue and started being a way for them to punish/control certain activities.

It seems that taxes anymore are a way for the politicians to make the “poor” feel like they are getting back at the “rich” leading again the “fair share” argument. The only problem with this is my tax rate has nothing to do with your life as yours does mine. If I consider you “rich” and me “poor” how does the government raising your taxes help my situation at all, it doesn’t. But the politicians are hell bent on making it sound like they are going to get even with you since I can’t – some how this is supposed to make me feel better about my life.

How much screaming was there when Venezuela recently took control of the oil fields? How big of a loss was that for the impacted companies? But yet it generated only a blip on the news cycle. I doubt it will even get discussed much when the gov does the dog and pony and runs the Oil execs through the ringer one more time with their “fact finding” panel on gas prices.

Quote:

The reality is, that it is a cynical strategy to squeeze as much cash out of the countries most popular consumer products.




EXACTLY!!!!

-JBC-
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 11:10 AM

Sorry this is one of my hot topics…

I think people need to realize that when we run to the government and say “git’em” they do, by raising taxes. This in turn raises the cost of operation for the business, in turn raising consumer cost.

So who are they really getting?

-JBC-
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 11:36 AM

Quote:

Again the Gov has ZERO over head but generates as much or more revenue than the company




I find that statement inaccurate. The government does in fact have "overhead" in the form of public services - educational, military, transportation, etc. Taxes are used collectively to pay for these services and make them free or low cost to many people. Not to say that all of it goes to such benevolent ends, but it doesn't all just disappear into fat-cat pockets, either.

I assume you enjoy having paved streets, police protection, hospitals, libraries, etc.
Posted by: WuXing

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 11:54 AM

Anyone watch the documentary "who killed the electric car?"
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 12:34 PM

Matt, you do make a point but how many of those services are necessary or even with in the gov’s charter?

Hospitals, transportation, and one could go as far and say Education should not be under gov control – the health system is falling apart not through lack of gov involvement, but because of it. Education, would anybody argue that Private/Home school is better than public (I’m talking about results not cost or affordability) – why is that? They spend a fraction of the money yet get better results, per the gov this should not be the case but it is.

Yes, there are things the gov is here for, Military, Police, Roads, etc. but currently the gov is playing social engineer – smoking is bad, raise taxes, guns are bad, raise taxes, schools are bad, raise taxes, parents are not doing their jobs correctly, raise taxes, you use too much gas, raise taxes, and the big one the rich are bad, raise taxes.

What is really amusing is the more people that migrate to Hybrid cars the less sales tax revenue the gov gets. Have you heard the rumblings about a per mile tax to make up for the loss? There is not too much about it right now but it is there. If memory serve correctly there was at one point considerations for a tax break to buy a hybrid, now they want to raise, or should I say add another tax, because of them.

Smoking, if it is truly the killer we are told why isn't it legal – I’m positive that it has nothing to do with the taxes that are collected… What new and creative tax would be applied if all the smokers quit?

I don’t know, it just seems like people think the Gov is the fix all

Some recent examples:
Katrina – the gov didn’t protect us from anything
VT Shooting – The police didn’t protect anybody (did you notice, the killer was inside – the cops where outside). Yea, there was a huge show of force after the fact, but it was just a bit late.

9/11 – Again the Gov didn’t stop sh!t. The one that didn’t get to its location was stoped by the people (I am not going to argue conspiracy).

I cant remember his name but the guy that attempted to light his shoe on fire to blow up the plane was not stopped due to gov intervention it was stopped by the people on the plane.

Sorry, I believe that if we stop relying on gov for all aspects of our collective lives we would be much better off.

I was talking about similar thing with my uncle (college educated but is a dead beat). Basically he was complaining about how he is being held back by the man. When I said get a different job I was told “easy for you to say”. What is funny about this is I have zero issues finding a new job and I have no college and had horrible grades in HS. The difference is I act he complains.

I believe there are few true victims in life but it is just too easy to make excuses.

WOW, I’ll end my rant now…

-JBC-
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 01:02 PM

Quote:

I don’t know, it just seems like people think the Gov is the fix all




Now with this, I am in total agreement with you. In fact, the problem IMHO, is that people think of the GOV as something other than what it is - an extension of the people themselves. That outlook is unfortunately perpetuated by both sides, with the people saying "the GOV must do something!" and the gov saying "Let us take care of it!" Everybody looks for the GOV to save their bacon - the poor and the rich. But the GOV is us- you and me. Don't like the taxes and regs? Vote out the lawmakers. Sponsor your own initiatives. Hell, run for office yourself.

Many forget this, and others encourage them. But it needn't be that way.

EDIT -

I never went to college, either. Barely graduated high school, too.

Not proud of that, but not ashamed, either. I agree you can do a lot, if you want to.
Posted by: jonnyboxcutter

Re: Oil prices and profits - 04/28/07 01:52 PM

You should be proud it is and can be a big hurdle to overcome.

Oh yea:
And get off my lawn… or something like that.

-JBC-