Goverment or Oil Company: Who makes more off a gallon of gas?

[LeftofLeft]

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

 

[The T]

Government does through taxation.

 

[Full-Auto]

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

Government.

But relax, The last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. WA.ST.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

 

[Avatar4321]

The government, of course.

 

[The T]

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

Government.

But relax, The last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. WA.ST.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

...and deny more production. But hey? I hear Pond Scum refineries are in the works...

 

[edthecynic]

Government does through taxation.

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

Government.

But relax, The last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. WA.ST.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

The government, of course.

Damn, CON$ are fools!

Big Oil makes money on each step of the process of making gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and heating oil. They make money pumping it, trading it, refining it and selling it. The federal government gets 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline.

 

[Full-Auto]

regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

government.

But relax, the last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. Wa.st.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

...and deny more production. But hey? I hear pond scum refineries are in the works...

we have been saved!!

 

[PoliticalChic]

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

1. “The industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to 13 cents for the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
Perhaps the evil oil companies cut back on supply? Wrong again. “The worldwide average number of barrels produced per day was an estimated 84.8 million in 2007, compared to 72.4 million during the period 1986 – 2006.”
On Those Oil Profits - Robert Murphy - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

2. Terrible how they make those obscene profits on poor folks! It seems that being liberal means never having to provide context. First, let’s compare the profit margin of Big Oil to that of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. The average profit margin for companies in the S & P 500 index was 13 cents. And “The [Oil] industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to… the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
AAPL Key Statistics | Apple Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance, available for each company.

So, where are the complaints about ‘Big Sneaker,’ or ‘Big Shampoo’?

And where are the kudos for Big Oil, without which we couldn’t get to work? Or should we go after the owners of Exxon with pitchforks an firebrands? Better not, after all they is us!

3. “Exxon Mobil, in fact, is owned mostly by ordinary Americans. Mutual funds, index funds and pension funds (including union pension funds) own about 52 percent of Exxon Mobil’s shares. Individual shareholders, about two million or so, own almost all the rest. The pooh-bahs who run Exxon own less than 1 percent of the company.” NY Times Advertisement

And, of course, the antibusiness crowd loves stories about how much Big Oil is stealing from the American people! On the contrary, in 2006, the oil industry paid $81 billion in income tax, and while Exxon’s earnings increased 89% from 2003 to 2007, their income taxes increased 170%. Exxon: Profit Pirate or Tax Victim?

4. The non-thinking segment of the public has been conditioned to hate the oil industry. Very few realize the extent to which they are subsidized by this industry. “According to the [Exxon] company's income statement, the amount of taxes it paid in 2008 was 2.5 times as much as its net profit. The $45.2 billion profit figure makes a snappy headline, but the $116.2 billion in taxes that it paid is relegated to a footnote—if that. Exxon's tax bill breaks down like this: income taxes, $36.5 billion; sales-based taxes, $34.5 billion; "all other" taxes, $45.2 billion.” Exxon, Big Oil Profits Evil Only Until You Weigh Their Tax Bills - US News and World Report

5. If Exxon’s 2008 tax bill of $116.2 billion were split equally among all tax filers who pay income tax, each filer’s share would be $1,259/year. Still hate Exxon? The Tax Foundation - Number of Americans Paying Zero Federal Income Tax Grows to 43.4 Million

 

[PoliticalChic]

Government does through taxation.

Government.

But relax, The last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. WA.ST.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

The government, of course.

Damn, CON$ are fools!

Big Oil makes money on each step of the process of making gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and heating oil. They make money pumping it, trading it, refining it and selling it. The federal government gets 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline.

Better not read post #8, BeetsAndSpinach.....or read it sitting down.

 

[The T]

government.

But relax, the last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. Wa.st.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

...and deny more production. But hey? I hear pond scum refineries are in the works...

we have been saved!!

Indeed...

(Image: Graphics Connection LLC )​

 

[The T]

Government does through taxation.

Government.

But relax, The last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. WA.ST.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

The government, of course.

Damn, CON$ are fools!

Big Oil makes money on each step of the process of making gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and heating oil. They make money pumping it, trading it, refining it and selling it. The federal government gets 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline.

I'll take what is "Windfall Profits Tax" for 1,000 Alex...

And by the way? Profits go back to sharholders and then into R & D and equipment upgrades. What does Government do with thier profit?

And don't say building and maitaining roads because that would be a LIE. Remember Obama giving a speech at the foot of a bridge between Ohio and Kentucky complaining about crumbling infrastructure in September 2011?

Idiot.

 

[edthecynic]

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

1. “The industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to 13 cents for the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
Perhaps the evil oil companies cut back on supply? Wrong again. “The worldwide average number of barrels produced per day was an estimated 84.8 million in 2007, compared to 72.4 million during the period 1986 – 2006.”
On Those Oil Profits - Robert Murphy - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

2. Terrible how they make those obscene profits on poor folks! It seems that being liberal means never having to provide context. First, let’s compare the profit margin of Big Oil to that of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. The average profit margin for companies in the S & P 500 index was 13 cents. And “The [Oil] industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to… the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
AAPL Key Statistics | Apple Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance, available for each company.

So, where are the complaints about ‘Big Sneaker,’ or ‘Big Shampoo’?

And where are the kudos for Big Oil, without which we couldn’t get to work? Or should we go after the owners of Exxon with pitchforks an firebrands? Better not, after all they is us!

3. “Exxon Mobil, in fact, is owned mostly by ordinary Americans. Mutual funds, index funds and pension funds (including union pension funds) own about 52 percent of Exxon Mobil’s shares. Individual shareholders, about two million or so, own almost all the rest. The pooh-bahs who run Exxon own less than 1 percent of the company.” NY Times Advertisement

And, of course, the antibusiness crowd loves stories about how much Big Oil is stealing from the American people! On the contrary, in 2006, the oil industry paid $81 billion in income tax, and while Exxon’s earnings increased 89% from 2003 to 2007, their income taxes increased 170%. Exxon: Profit Pirate or Tax Victim?

4. The non-thinking segment of the public has been conditioned to hate the oil industry. Very few realize the extent to which they are subsidized by this industry. “According to the [Exxon] company's income statement, the amount of taxes it paid in 2008 was 2.5 times as much as its net profit. The $45.2 billion profit figure makes a snappy headline, but the $116.2 billion in taxes that it paid is relegated to a footnote—if that. Exxon's tax bill breaks down like this: income taxes, $36.5 billion; sales-based taxes, $34.5 billion; "all other" taxes, $45.2 billion.” Exxon, Big Oil Profits Evil Only Until You Weigh Their Tax Bills - US News and World Report

5. If Exxon’s 2008 tax bill of $116.2 billion were split equally among all tax filers who pay income tax, each filer’s share would be $1,259/year. Still hate Exxon? The Tax Foundation - Number of Americans Paying Zero Federal Income Tax Grows to 43.4 Million

What a load of BS.

All that BS shows is just how much money is skimmed off and hidden to bring the profit per dollar down to 9 cents. It only costs western oil producers at most 25 dollars a barrel of crude, from the hardest to get places like deep water in the Gulf or the tar sands of Canada, that sells for $100+, and that $20 includes the cost of building the pumping facility.

Very little of EXXON stock is owned by average citizens. The bottom 80% of Americans have less than 9% of the stock. So while the number of people who own a mutual fund, etc., may be high, the mean amount of total stock owned by each individual average citizen is minuscule.

Any taxes are passed on to the consumer in the price so the end user is the one paying Big Oil's taxes.

How much Exxon pays for oil - Nov. 6, 2007
To be sure, producing the stuff has made big money for big oil over the last few years. Although it costs a lot less than $90 a barrel to pump, it's still not as cheap as you'd think.
The world's cheapest oil to extract comes from Saudi Arabia and costs $2 a barrel. But that oil, over 8 million barrels a day, is pumped mostly by the Saudi national oil company and is largely off-limits to Western oil firms.
For Western firms, it can cost as little as $5 to $7 a barrel to pump the most easily accessible oil from places like Venezuela or Azerbaijan, said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer.
The new math of oil
The costs don't stop there. On top of the $5-$7 production costs, there's also the the money it took to build the pumping facility. At several billion dollars a pop, capital costs typically add another $5 to $7 a barrel.
And that's the cost of producing oil in the cheapest regions of the world. Factor in expensive fields like the deep water Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada or water-laden output of Texas, and the average production and capital cost is somewhere in the low teens to mid $20s, said Gheit.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

1. “The industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to 13 cents for the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
Perhaps the evil oil companies cut back on supply? Wrong again. “The worldwide average number of barrels produced per day was an estimated 84.8 million in 2007, compared to 72.4 million during the period 1986 – 2006.”
On Those Oil Profits - Robert Murphy - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

2. Terrible how they make those obscene profits on poor folks! It seems that being liberal means never having to provide context. First, let’s compare the profit margin of Big Oil to that of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. The average profit margin for companies in the S & P 500 index was 13 cents. And “The [Oil] industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to… the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
AAPL Key Statistics | Apple Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance, available for each company.

So, where are the complaints about ‘Big Sneaker,’ or ‘Big Shampoo’?

And where are the kudos for Big Oil, without which we couldn’t get to work? Or should we go after the owners of Exxon with pitchforks an firebrands? Better not, after all they is us!

3. “Exxon Mobil, in fact, is owned mostly by ordinary Americans. Mutual funds, index funds and pension funds (including union pension funds) own about 52 percent of Exxon Mobil’s shares. Individual shareholders, about two million or so, own almost all the rest. The pooh-bahs who run Exxon own less than 1 percent of the company.” NY Times Advertisement

And, of course, the antibusiness crowd loves stories about how much Big Oil is stealing from the American people! On the contrary, in 2006, the oil industry paid $81 billion in income tax, and while Exxon’s earnings increased 89% from 2003 to 2007, their income taxes increased 170%. Exxon: Profit Pirate or Tax Victim?

4. The non-thinking segment of the public has been conditioned to hate the oil industry. Very few realize the extent to which they are subsidized by this industry. “According to the [Exxon] company's income statement, the amount of taxes it paid in 2008 was 2.5 times as much as its net profit. The $45.2 billion profit figure makes a snappy headline, but the $116.2 billion in taxes that it paid is relegated to a footnote—if that. Exxon's tax bill breaks down like this: income taxes, $36.5 billion; sales-based taxes, $34.5 billion; "all other" taxes, $45.2 billion.” Exxon, Big Oil Profits Evil Only Until You Weigh Their Tax Bills - US News and World Report

5. If Exxon’s 2008 tax bill of $116.2 billion were split equally among all tax filers who pay income tax, each filer’s share would be $1,259/year. Still hate Exxon? The Tax Foundation - Number of Americans Paying Zero Federal Income Tax Grows to 43.4 Million

What a load of BS.

All that BS shows is just how much money is skimmed off and hidden to bring the profit per dollar down to 9 cents. It only costs western oil producers at most 25 dollars a barrel of crude, from the hardest to get places like deep water in the Gulf or the tar sands of Canada, that sells for $100+, and that $20 includes the cost of building the pumping facility.

Very little of EXXON stock is owned by average citizens. The bottom 80% of Americans have less than 9% of the stock. So while the number of people who own a mutual fund, etc., may be high, the mean amount of total stock owned by each individual average citizen is minuscule.

Any taxes are passed on to the consumer in the price so the end user is the one paying Big Oil's taxes.

How much Exxon pays for oil - Nov. 6, 2007
To be sure, producing the stuff has made big money for big oil over the last few years. Although it costs a lot less than $90 a barrel to pump, it's still not as cheap as you'd think.
The world's cheapest oil to extract comes from Saudi Arabia and costs $2 a barrel. But that oil, over 8 million barrels a day, is pumped mostly by the Saudi national oil company and is largely off-limits to Western oil firms.
For Western firms, it can cost as little as $5 to $7 a barrel to pump the most easily accessible oil from places like Venezuela or Azerbaijan, said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer.
The new math of oil
The costs don't stop there. On top of the $5-$7 production costs, there's also the the money it took to build the pumping facility. At several billion dollars a pop, capital costs typically add another $5 to $7 a barrel.
And that's the cost of producing oil in the cheapest regions of the world. Factor in expensive fields like the deep water Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada or water-laden output of Texas, and the average production and capital cost is somewhere in the low teens to mid $20s, said Gheit.

There is no skimming off the top. I'm a petroleum geologist in natural gas and crude exploration. I analyze production costs everyday. The costs associated with crude are approximately:

75% - Cost of the crude oil
12% - Taxes
11% - Refining costs
6% - Distribution and marketing


Assuming an oil company is paying current rates, $106 per barrel (42 gallons), that's $2.52 a gallon. The pump price is currently approx. $4.00 a gallon. At pump prices, 48 cents has to pay for taxes and 24 cents for distribution and marketing expenses. That leaves $3.28 for the oil company. Subtract the amount per barrel, which is constantly fluid, $2.52, and you have a total of 76 cents. Subtract 44 cents for refining costs and that leaves 32 cents per gallon profit. Per dollar, the oil company receives approx. 10 cents profit. That can vary according to overhead and labor.

 

[Conservative]

Government does through taxation.

Government.

But relax, The last time prices hit this level the democrats were very concerned about the effects high prices would have on the poor. WA.ST.

Decision.................. Raise the tax ten cents.

The government, of course.

Damn, CON$ are fools!

Big Oil makes money on each step of the process of making gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and heating oil. They make money pumping it, trading it, refining it and selling it. The federal government gets 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline.

federal tax is 18.4. The state also gets a cut, and you're off base in figuring where the oil companies get their profit.

 

[Conservative]

Busting the Myth About Oil Company Profits - Seeking Alpha
The following graph from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) shows the results of what happens to oil company profits when crude oil prices increase:

The following Energy Information Agency graphs shows the breakdown of the average price for a gallon of gasoline paid at the pump in March 2011:

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Government does through taxation.

The government, of course.

Damn, CON$ are fools!

Big Oil makes money on each step of the process of making gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and heating oil. They make money pumping it, trading it, refining it and selling it. The federal government gets 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline.

federal tax is 18.4. The state also gets a cut, and you're off base in figuring where the oil companies get their profit.

Yep. Combined state and federal taxes range from 26 cents in Alaska to 69 cents per gallon in Connecticut.

 

[The T]

Government does through taxation.

The government, of course.

Damn, CON$ are fools!

Big Oil makes money on each step of the process of making gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and heating oil. They make money pumping it, trading it, refining it and selling it. The federal government gets 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline.

federal tax is 18.4. The state also gets a cut, and you're off base in figuring where the oil companies get their profit.

Precisely. And of more import? HOW does government use the profits? Aren't they supposed to be tagged for 'road/infrastructure' improvements...or does it go by the wayside and robbed as Socialist Security is robbed and left with I.O.U.'s?

 

[Conservative]

Regardless of the price, $2, $6, or$10, is the oil company's profit margin greater or lesser than the government's margin (if any) ? Between the government and the oil company, who incurs more risk to get its margin?

1. “The industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to 13 cents for the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
Perhaps the evil oil companies cut back on supply? Wrong again. “The worldwide average number of barrels produced per day was an estimated 84.8 million in 2007, compared to 72.4 million during the period 1986 – 2006.”
On Those Oil Profits - Robert Murphy - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

2. Terrible how they make those obscene profits on poor folks! It seems that being liberal means never having to provide context. First, let’s compare the profit margin of Big Oil to that of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. The average profit margin for companies in the S & P 500 index was 13 cents. And “The [Oil] industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to… the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
AAPL Key Statistics | Apple Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance, available for each company.

So, where are the complaints about ‘Big Sneaker,’ or ‘Big Shampoo’?

And where are the kudos for Big Oil, without which we couldn’t get to work? Or should we go after the owners of Exxon with pitchforks an firebrands? Better not, after all they is us!

3. “Exxon Mobil, in fact, is owned mostly by ordinary Americans. Mutual funds, index funds and pension funds (including union pension funds) own about 52 percent of Exxon Mobil’s shares. Individual shareholders, about two million or so, own almost all the rest. The pooh-bahs who run Exxon own less than 1 percent of the company.” NY Times Advertisement

And, of course, the antibusiness crowd loves stories about how much Big Oil is stealing from the American people! On the contrary, in 2006, the oil industry paid $81 billion in income tax, and while Exxon’s earnings increased 89% from 2003 to 2007, their income taxes increased 170%. Exxon: Profit Pirate or Tax Victim?

4. The non-thinking segment of the public has been conditioned to hate the oil industry. Very few realize the extent to which they are subsidized by this industry. “According to the [Exxon] company's income statement, the amount of taxes it paid in 2008 was 2.5 times as much as its net profit. The $45.2 billion profit figure makes a snappy headline, but the $116.2 billion in taxes that it paid is relegated to a footnote—if that. Exxon's tax bill breaks down like this: income taxes, $36.5 billion; sales-based taxes, $34.5 billion; "all other" taxes, $45.2 billion.” Exxon, Big Oil Profits Evil Only Until You Weigh Their Tax Bills - US News and World Report

5. If Exxon’s 2008 tax bill of $116.2 billion were split equally among all tax filers who pay income tax, each filer’s share would be $1,259/year. Still hate Exxon? The Tax Foundation - Number of Americans Paying Zero Federal Income Tax Grows to 43.4 Million

how DARE you bring facts into the discussion!

 

[edthecynic]

1. “The industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to 13 cents for the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
Perhaps the evil oil companies cut back on supply? Wrong again. “The worldwide average number of barrels produced per day was an estimated 84.8 million in 2007, compared to 72.4 million during the period 1986 – 2006.”
On Those Oil Profits - Robert Murphy - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

2. Terrible how they make those obscene profits on poor folks! It seems that being liberal means never having to provide context. First, let’s compare the profit margin of Big Oil to that of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. The average profit margin for companies in the S & P 500 index was 13 cents. And “The [Oil] industry’s net profit per dollar of revenue was just under 9 cents, compared to… the S&P 500, meaning the “markup” for the oil and gas industry is below average.”
AAPL Key Statistics | Apple Inc. Stock - Yahoo! Finance, available for each company.

So, where are the complaints about ‘Big Sneaker,’ or ‘Big Shampoo’?

And where are the kudos for Big Oil, without which we couldn’t get to work? Or should we go after the owners of Exxon with pitchforks an firebrands? Better not, after all they is us!

3. “Exxon Mobil, in fact, is owned mostly by ordinary Americans. Mutual funds, index funds and pension funds (including union pension funds) own about 52 percent of Exxon Mobil’s shares. Individual shareholders, about two million or so, own almost all the rest. The pooh-bahs who run Exxon own less than 1 percent of the company.” NY Times Advertisement

And, of course, the antibusiness crowd loves stories about how much Big Oil is stealing from the American people! On the contrary, in 2006, the oil industry paid $81 billion in income tax, and while Exxon’s earnings increased 89% from 2003 to 2007, their income taxes increased 170%. Exxon: Profit Pirate or Tax Victim?

4. The non-thinking segment of the public has been conditioned to hate the oil industry. Very few realize the extent to which they are subsidized by this industry. “According to the [Exxon] company's income statement, the amount of taxes it paid in 2008 was 2.5 times as much as its net profit. The $45.2 billion profit figure makes a snappy headline, but the $116.2 billion in taxes that it paid is relegated to a footnote—if that. Exxon's tax bill breaks down like this: income taxes, $36.5 billion; sales-based taxes, $34.5 billion; "all other" taxes, $45.2 billion.” Exxon, Big Oil Profits Evil Only Until You Weigh Their Tax Bills - US News and World Report

5. If Exxon’s 2008 tax bill of $116.2 billion were split equally among all tax filers who pay income tax, each filer’s share would be $1,259/year. Still hate Exxon? The Tax Foundation - Number of Americans Paying Zero Federal Income Tax Grows to 43.4 Million

What a load of BS.

All that BS shows is just how much money is skimmed off and hidden to bring the profit per dollar down to 9 cents. It only costs western oil producers at most 25 dollars a barrel of crude, from the hardest to get places like deep water in the Gulf or the tar sands of Canada, that sells for $100+, and that $20 includes the cost of building the pumping facility.

Very little of EXXON stock is owned by average citizens. The bottom 80% of Americans have less than 9% of the stock. So while the number of people who own a mutual fund, etc., may be high, the mean amount of total stock owned by each individual average citizen is minuscule.

Any taxes are passed on to the consumer in the price so the end user is the one paying Big Oil's taxes.

How much Exxon pays for oil - Nov. 6, 2007
To be sure, producing the stuff has made big money for big oil over the last few years. Although it costs a lot less than $90 a barrel to pump, it's still not as cheap as you'd think.
The world's cheapest oil to extract comes from Saudi Arabia and costs $2 a barrel. But that oil, over 8 million barrels a day, is pumped mostly by the Saudi national oil company and is largely off-limits to Western oil firms.
For Western firms, it can cost as little as $5 to $7 a barrel to pump the most easily accessible oil from places like Venezuela or Azerbaijan, said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer.
The new math of oil
The costs don't stop there. On top of the $5-$7 production costs, there's also the the money it took to build the pumping facility. At several billion dollars a pop, capital costs typically add another $5 to $7 a barrel.
And that's the cost of producing oil in the cheapest regions of the world. Factor in expensive fields like the deep water Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada or water-laden output of Texas, and the average production and capital cost is somewhere in the low teens to mid $20s, said Gheit.

There is no skimming off the top. I'm a petroleum geologist in natural gas and crude exploration. I analyze production costs everyday. The costs associated with crude are approximately:

75% - Cost of the crude oil
12% - Taxes
11% - Refining costs
6% - Distribution and marketing


Assuming an oil company is paying current rates, $106 per barrel (42 gallons), that's $2.52 a gallon. The pump price is currently approx. $4.00 a gallon. At pump prices, 48 cents has to pay for taxes and 24 cents for distribution and marketing expenses. That leaves $3.28 for the oil company. Subtract the amount per barrel, which is constantly fluid, $2.52, and you have a total of 76 cents. Subtract 44 cents for refining costs and that leaves 32 cents per gallon profit. Per dollar, the oil company receives approx. 10 cents profit. That can vary according to overhead and labor.

That is REFINERY profit only.

It only costs $25 per barrel to pump the oil from the hardest most expensive places like deep water in the Gulf or the tar sands in Canada, including all the costs of production like infrastructure. So at $106 per barrel, $81 or 76% is profit.

 

[Conservative]

What a load of BS.

All that BS shows is just how much money is skimmed off and hidden to bring the profit per dollar down to 9 cents. It only costs western oil producers at most 25 dollars a barrel of crude, from the hardest to get places like deep water in the Gulf or the tar sands of Canada, that sells for $100+, and that $20 includes the cost of building the pumping facility.

Very little of EXXON stock is owned by average citizens. The bottom 80% of Americans have less than 9% of the stock. So while the number of people who own a mutual fund, etc., may be high, the mean amount of total stock owned by each individual average citizen is minuscule.

Any taxes are passed on to the consumer in the price so the end user is the one paying Big Oil's taxes.

How much Exxon pays for oil - Nov. 6, 2007
To be sure, producing the stuff has made big money for big oil over the last few years. Although it costs a lot less than $90 a barrel to pump, it's still not as cheap as you'd think.
The world's cheapest oil to extract comes from Saudi Arabia and costs $2 a barrel. But that oil, over 8 million barrels a day, is pumped mostly by the Saudi national oil company and is largely off-limits to Western oil firms.
For Western firms, it can cost as little as $5 to $7 a barrel to pump the most easily accessible oil from places like Venezuela or Azerbaijan, said Fadel Gheit, a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer.
The new math of oil
The costs don't stop there. On top of the $5-$7 production costs, there's also the the money it took to build the pumping facility. At several billion dollars a pop, capital costs typically add another $5 to $7 a barrel.
And that's the cost of producing oil in the cheapest regions of the world. Factor in expensive fields like the deep water Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada or water-laden output of Texas, and the average production and capital cost is somewhere in the low teens to mid $20s, said Gheit.

nice cherry picking... from your link...

But if production were just the only concern, big oil companies like Exxon Mobil (Charts, Fortune 500), Chevron (Charts, Fortune 500) and ConocoPhillips (Charts, Fortune 500) that both pump and refine oil would have seen record profits in the latest quarter. Unfortunately for these companies, they are also buyers of expensive crude, not just sellers. In fact, they refine more oil than they pump themselves.

A lot more. Exxon refined 5.6 million barrels a day in the third quarter 2007, but only pumped 2.5 million barrels a day. Chevron sold 3.5 million barrels a day of refined products but only pumped 1.7 million barrels of oil. Conoco refined 3.1 million barrels but pumped just 774,000.

These companies don't get a deal on the extra oil they must buy to refine, analysts said.

"Generally speaking, they have to pay fair market," said Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist at ARC Financial, a Calgary-based private equity firm. "If the refineries need it, they have to buy it."

Furthermore, Tertzakian said, accounting rules prevent the production side of a big oil company from giving the refining side a deal on crude. Other rules prevent the movement of crude from one country to another at below-market rates - rules largely designed so oil companies can't skimp on their tax obligations.

"They are subject to market forces, they pay like everybody else," said Gheit.

That's party why oil companies saw profits decline so much last quarter, when crude oil costs rose but gasoline failed to keep up.

Crude oil prices went from about $71 a barrel at the start of the quarter to more than $81 a barrel at the end. Gasoline prices, meanwhile, fell to a national average of $2.81 a gallon from $2.95, according to numbers from the Energy Information Administration.

As a result, Exxon reported at 10 percent drop in profits compared to the same time last year, while Chevron fell 26 percent and Conoco lost 5 percent.