Oil companies post Huge Profits!

[Paulie]

Couple points here--

* Most charts that purport to adjust for inflation are taking government numbers at face value, even though the official CPI numbers are way off. They changed the way inflation is counted in the early 80's and again in the mid 90's.

* Most central banks all over the world are matching or exceeding the rate of monetary expansion by the federal reserve. Yes, the euro is looking strong--but only in comparison to the dollar. I would probably look like an olympic athlete if I stood next to a cancer patient.

That's not to say that increased demand from china and india aren't playing a factor of course.

I was going to chime in with this, but I figured why bother...I'll probably just get ridiculed for having a view that is "convenient", because I don't trust the government's "stats" anyway.

Larkinn, inflation is much worse than those numbers you posted.

 

[Zoomie1980]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_oil

Let's elect another oil man as President again, please. Why can't george go hold hands with his Saudi daddy again and sweet talk him into lower crude costs?

From the early 1980's through the middle 2000's oil companies struggled to turn any profit, more often LOSING BILLIONS during that time of $20 oil. No one was crying and feeling sorry for them then. So now, for the first time in almost 30 years they get to make a little return on the Billions of investement they have made and everyone is screaming???

YOU, not the oil companies, are responsible for gas prices by CONSUMING TOO MUCH!!! The commercial oil companies control LESS THAN 15%%%% of all oil and only 30% of refining!!!! The rest? The NATIONAL oil companies of the world. The ones controlled by GOVERNMENTS!!!

Government, for you liberal loons, of course, is the answer for EVERYTHING!!!

So guess who go bitch to gov't....they OWN 85% of the oil!!!

 

[Larkinn]

From the early 1980's through the middle 2000's oil companies struggled to turn any profit, more often LOSING BILLIONS during that time of $20 oil. No one was crying and feeling sorry for them then. So now, for the first time in almost 30 years they get to make a little return on the Billions of investement they have made and everyone is screaming???

Cite on oil companies losing money for the past 30 years?

YOU, not the oil companies, are responsible for gas prices by CONSUMING TOO MUCH!!!

So US gasoline consumption has risen 250% in the last 5 years? No? Then thats obviously not the only factor, hey?

The commercial oil companies control LESS THAN 15%%%% of all oil and only 30% of refining!!!! The rest? The NATIONAL oil companies of the world. The ones controlled by GOVERNMENTS!!!
Government, for you liberal loons, of course, is the answer for EVERYTHING!!!

LMAO...seriously are you honestly trying to blame the increase on government?

So guess who go bitch to gov't....they OWN 85% of the oil!!!

Ok, we'll all go bitch to the Venezualan gov't and their state owned oil companies. Oh wait, we have absolutely no influence over there. Amazing idea.

 

[Toro]

Cite on oil companies losing money for the past 30 years?

Many mid-tier E&P companies lost money in the 1990s. That's why there were so many mergers. Most juniors were unprofitable. Many oil drillers went bust in the 1980s. Real estate in Houston and Dallas collapsed.

From 1981-1998, the industry as a whole did not earn its cost of capital.

So US gasoline consumption has risen 250% in the last 5 years? No?

No. US gasoline consumption rose about 2.5% per year for five years. Over the last while, gas consumption has fallen.

 

[Zoomie1980]

Cite on oil companies losing money for the past 30 years?



So US gasoline consumption has risen 250% in the last 5 years? No? Then thats obviously not the only factor, hey?



LMAO...seriously are you honestly trying to blame the increase on government?



Ok, we'll all go bitch to the Venezualan gov't and their state owned oil companies. Oh wait, we have absolutely no influence over there. Amazing idea.

For the ignorant, 85% of the world's oil is controlled by GOVERNMENT owned national oil companies. We can do NOTHING about that short of declaring war and CONFISCATING through military force, their oil. Exxon, BP, Shell, etc...control LESS THAN 15%!!!! They could put all their combined capacity on the market for FREE and it would only have MINIMAL IMPACT.

Some people on this forum are simply too stupid to breathe...

 

[cbi0090]

For the ignorant, 85% of the world's oil is controlled by GOVERNMENT owned national oil companies. We can do NOTHING about that short of declaring war and CONFISCATING through military force, their oil. Exxon, BP, Shell, etc...control LESS THAN 15%!!!! They could put all their combined capacity on the market for FREE and it would only have MINIMAL IMPACT.

Some people on this forum are simply too stupid to breathe...

What you are saying is correct but not entirely. It's not governments in all cases but sovereigns, which of course like to call themselves governments, who own 85% of the oil. For example, the Saudi royal family. They own and control it all but, by some magic which only they can understand, it somehow gets translated into being managed by the Saudi national oil company Aramco whose profits, which are in the trillions (not measly billions), go into the national treasury which also is owned/ controlled by the Saudi family. (Go figure) The remaining middle east countries all have basically the same arrangment with minor variations here and there. If we were to be successful in Iraq and their oil actually becomes a national resource (not a plaything for a small royal family) it would have a major impact on all of the nations in the area, which is why you don't see them doing much more than keeping the pot stirred over there. It would be a threat to them.
Chavez only wishes he had that arrangement and is doing all he can to make it so, but nonetheless still controls the majority of the profits, which of course he uses, like his Arab brothern, to buy support, or in his case votes. Russia is likewise doing the same and following their example. Oddly enough the U.S. is still a very large producer of oil, but unfortunately, we use about 10 times what we produce.

 

[Zoomie1980]

What you are saying is correct but not entirely. It's not governments in all cases but sovereigns, which of course like to call themselves governments, who own 85% of the oil. For example, the Saudi royal family. They own and control it all but, by some magic which only they can understand, it somehow gets translated into being managed by the Saudi national oil company Aramco whose profits, which are in the trillions (not measly billions), go into the national treasury which also is owned/ controlled by the Saudi family. (Go figure) The remaining middle east countries all have basically the same arrangment with minor variations here and there. If we were to be successful in Iraq and their oil actually becomes a national resource (not a plaything for a small royal family) it would have a major impact on all of the nations in the area, which is why you don't see them doing much more than keeping the pot stirred over there. It would be a threat to them.
Chavez only wishes he had that arrangement and is doing all he can to make it so, but nonetheless still controls the majority of the profits, which of course he uses, like his Arab brothern, to buy support, or in his case votes. Russia is likewise doing the same and following their example. Oddly enough the U.S. is still a very large producer of oil, but unfortunately, we use about 10 times what we produce.

Bottom line, saddling our own oil companies (or the UK's or Dutch's) with "windfall profit taxes" won;'t accomplish anything at all except to push an even higher percentage of production into the hands of people we cannot control.

Well, I guess, in the end, we COULD control them. That's what the Kitty Hawk, Nimitz, Ronald Reagan and Aegis Cruisers are for.....

 

[Paulie]

Some people on this forum are simply too stupid to breathe...

Isn't it just a bit hasty to say this, considering not everyone is knowledgable in economics and business? I mean, there are some stupid ones here, but not knowing the ins and outs of business and economy doesn't make one "stupid".

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Cite on oil companies losing money for the past 30 years?



So US gasoline consumption has risen 250% in the last 5 years? No? Then thats obviously not the only factor, hey?



LMAO...seriously are you honestly trying to blame the increase on government?



Ok, we'll all go bitch to the Venezualan gov't and their state owned oil companies. Oh wait, we have absolutely no influence over there. Amazing idea.

China is buying up oil left and right and I mean longterm unbreakable contracts. That is in fact Government.

 

[Larkinn]

For the ignorant, 85% of the world's oil is controlled by GOVERNMENT owned national oil companies.

Yeah we read that the last time you said it.

We can do NOTHING about that short of declaring war and CONFISCATING through military force, their oil.

Alright.

Exxon, BP, Shell, etc...control LESS THAN 15%!!!! They could put all their combined capacity on the market for FREE and it would only have MINIMAL IMPACT.

Perhaps you are unaware of exactly how much 15% of the worlds oil really is? Its a huge amount that would most definitely have a massive effect on prices.

Bottom line, saddling our own oil companies (or the UK's or Dutch's) with "windfall profit taxes" won;'t accomplish anything at all except to push an even higher percentage of production into the hands of people we cannot control.

Really? So that $17 billion Exxon is getting is all necessary just to keep their business afloat? Taking away, say $1 bil, will somehow bankrupt them and cause them to lose part of their oil share?

Well, I guess, in the end, we COULD control them. That's what the Kitty Hawk, Nimitz, Ronald Reagan and Aegis Cruisers are for.....

If your war strategy includes dead ex-presidents, good luck with that. You'll need it.

 

[cbi0090]

Yeah we read that the last time you said it.



Alright.



Perhaps you are unaware of exactly how much 15% of the worlds oil really is? Its a huge amount that would most definitely have a massive effect on prices.


It's a huge amount to pions like you and me, but nothing to the soveriegn owners or nations that controls the majority of oil in the world. Did you know that there is presently $2.4 trillion dollars worth of construction going on along the Gulf at the moment? $17 Billion wouldn't buy you a corner lot in that neighborhood.
So, your wrong to say it has a massive effect on the prices. It doesn't. Demand drives prices. It's one of those economic laws.
China has far more effect on prices than anything right now and they have cash falling out of their pockets. India is ramping up too, as well as a lot of other places you don't hear about as often, like Vietnam. They have exploded since they adopted free trade.
We're just not the big boys on the block when it comes to oil but we do have the best technology and if we don't keep it (i.e. Research and development) up we'll lose that too and that takes money...lot's of it.

 

[Care4all]

Bottom line, saddling our own oil companies (or the UK's or Dutch's) with "windfall profit taxes" won;'t accomplish anything at all except to push an even higher percentage of production into the hands of people we cannot control.

Well, I guess, in the end, we COULD control them. That's what the Kitty Hawk, Nimitz, Ronald Reagan and Aegis Cruisers are for.....

huh? what did i miss? don't our global oil/gas companies buy oil from others that is grade A quality oil that refines easier and sells some of our usa, thicker oil to others... as i heard?

 

[Toro]

huh? what did i miss? don't our global oil/gas companies buy oil from others that is grade A quality oil that refines easier and sells some of our usa, thicker oil to others... as i heard?

No, not necessarily. Venezuelan oil tends to be more dense and higher in sulfur, yet most of the oil that comes from that country is refined in America. A fair amount of Alaskan crude, which is also more dense and has a higher sulfur content, is shipped to Asia but much of it ends up in California. Refiners in California tend to be more complex because California and the west coast consumes a great deal of Alaska crude.