$5.69 a gallon

The high fuel prices sting for sure but at least oil companies are back to making record profits...

http://www.thestate.com/2011/04/28/1796421/exxon-earns-nearly-11-billion.html

 

If your number is strictly profit from the U.S., then disregard my entire post:
http://www.distributorlocator.exxonmobil.com/distributorlocator/index.aspx

I count 88 countries on the list. Gas is $1.00 cheaper per gallon in Mexico and if I took the time to google for 2 minutes, I'd find it somewhere for $0.25. So is Big Oil just screwing us?

 

Don't really know. I just know that they seem to make big profits when gas prices are high. Could just be a precentage thing but.....

 

Price of gas is up. Demand for gas is down. Profits for BIG OIL are up. Interesting play out of market dynamics.

 

It's actually .12 cents in Venezuela...that is just retarded.

 

I'm always hearing the numbers, but I don't care so I don't pay attention:
We're 5% of the population and use 25% of the energy, or some crap like that, right?
Why is Big Oil f#cking it's #1 customer?

 

people can bitch about gas prices all they want - that's their right as a consumer, but I really don't think it should cripple the average American the way some people claim it will.

A lot of the people I hear saying they can't afford X "because gas has gone up" are paying over $100/month for TV, and another $100+ a month for their cell phone.

I love my dish, and I love my iPhone (work pays for mine - my wife's was a valentine's day present), but if we were really struggling, I wouldn't hesitate to down-grade our TV and phone services to save money. Travel is a necessity. My TV and mobile internet are not.

What really kills me though are the people who buy motorcycles "to save on gas." Do some math on how many miles you have to rack up before you save as much as that bike cost you.

If you've already got the bike, then great - but don't buy one and pretend it's a money-saving proposition. It's possible to save money that way, but highly improbable. The only person I've ever known who definitely saved from buying a motorcycle had a $1800 bike, an 80 mile (round trip) commute, and got to park for free w/ the bike; whereas the car was costing $10/day for parking.

But even a 30 mpg improvement in fuel economy takes a long time to cover the purchase cost of the bike.

 

Big Oil sells to users all over the world.

 

They must like Venezuela

 

And the last I saw, refinery capacity is under 80 fucking percent. The more I think about it, ya, we're getting screwed....

 

Really?!?!? Mexican and Venezuelan oil is owned and ran by the government and uses price controls as a way to keep the populations happy.

The profits by the oil majors is just a function of volume. In 2008, when oil was at $147 bbl, the majors had lower margins than in surrounding years with lower prices. Demand is up, profits up. not a shock. The earnings were also for the first quarter, which was mostly before oil/gas really started rising.

 

I just drove past a station that carries diesel and it was down 2 cents from a few days ago.

 

Demand is down in the US

 

There was a funny comment from Cal Crutchlow in Qatar when he gassed up his rental it was only a few "pence".

 

These companies are as PC put it big OIL, not big gas station owners. They are making money because the main commodity they deal in, OIL, is up. They don't have much control at all on the price of OIL but since that is what the drill for and sell when that price goes up so does their profit.

 

Didn't realize oil and gas were only sold in the US.

 

Didn't say it was but aren't we the largest user? If the demand is going down in the US there should be more available which should put downward pressure on the price. Seems like back in 08 they were claiming refinery capacity was limiting the amount of gas that could be brought to the US market. Well, pucking refinery capacity is under 80%. Maybe big oil doesn't want to increase supply or lower prices...

Curious, Who do you work for?

 

So when I went to Exxon.com and saw they had distributors in Mexico and Venezuela, that means the governments of those countries actually own the exxon distributors there? Or do they require Exxon to sell to them for $0.17?
Mexico and Venezuela import zero oil? If they do, and I'm guessing they do, it would be hard for a company to import and to compete with 17 cent gas...

 

From what I have read the refinery capacity is low due to scheduled maintenance and the switch over to summer blends. Seems like a logical time to schedule the maintenance. Haven't the oil companies also been blasted lately for not performing enough maintenance and having refinery issues? So we want them to do maintenance when they screw up, but not when we want our fuel right this minute.

Even if some of the majors were choosing to operate at less than 100% that is their choice. Just like some oil isn't economically viable at $100 bbl but is at $150 bbl. Each company and person has the right to decide what they will buy or produce at a given price. Thats not evil or wrong. There are enough players in the market that someone else would be willing to get in at a certain price if it makes economic sense to.

I don't work for the oil companies if that is what you are asking.

 

and here we thought we were going to stick it to BP? lol...
Looks like with all the profits they will be making, they won't have a problem paying out what they own and still come on top We are screwed!