Can anyone say money

[lazyfatass247]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/30/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes


As if this tops the cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Capt Lindsay]

So what is your point?

Everyone complains about oil companies earning high profits. Why not call ExxonMobil's Chief Financial Officer and ask what their profits are per gallon of finished product. He will tell you. I did call him in 2007 and had a nice 30 minutes chat. He was stunned that a lay private citizen would have an interest in knowing that. The day I spoke to him, their profit for gasoline was $0.09 per gallon worldwide. You will find that the profits are but a small portion of the selling price. E-mail links to the 4 senior officers of the company are found at http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/about_who_mgmt.aspx.

At the same time people complain about oil company profits, the same people are known to complain that the oil companies are not doing enough collectively to:

A. Find more oil and gas
B. Invest in alternative energy sources
C. Invest more in existing production areas to improve recovery

A, B, and C above all take reinvestment by oil companies. The only way they can reinvest is to make profits. Losses or break even leave nothing for reinvestment. If, as one current candidate says, he'd raise taxes on oil companies' "excess profits," that will leave that much less for oil companies to invest in A, B, and C above, won't it.

I didn't like the high fuel prices this summer any more than anyone else. However, the decrease in our charters was not solely to the fuel surcharges everyone had to impose. We determined that the general inflation of everyday living expenses just didn't leave enough at the end of the week to afford the base charter costs.

If taxes go up, as some candidates seem to imply, how will our economy be affected then? Taxes create transfer payments and do not leverage the economy for growth. I would far rather pay higher prices in return for higher profits that benefit reinvestment and shareholders than pay taxes that go for someone's favorite pork project and create no long term value to industry and the general economy.

The economic issues that face us today did not happen overnight. Most of us only learn anything about the economy in 10 second sound bites on the evening news. How many have done any actual research to learn the root causes?

For example, while the price of crude oil and oil products has reduced from 2008 highs, the long term outlook for petroleum is drastic. Researchers with no ax to grind claim that oil production worldwide peaked in 2006 and we will never discover proven reserves each year to match the reserves we reduce by pumping the stuff out of the ground. Considering that about helf of worldwide production is used as chemical feedstocks and not as transportation and heating fuels, how will those needs be addressed when the oil runs out. How will this general reduction in supply affect the global political scene considering several major economic powers, China and India, have little proven reserves of oil.

[Anders]

I wish I made $1865 per second

[rarhomes]

.09 cents a gallon profit my ass. That's just what is left after all the principals take their bonuses. It's more like 15% plus a25% risk factor after bonuses. And that's what they say is "fair priced". How about now with gas at $66.00 a barrel and they are still selling it at $2.75 a gal and diesel at $3.30 a gal ?

.09 cent a gal. yea right.

[Bligh]

I work in the pipe trades in refineries every so often. Infact Im getting a twic card tomorrow for that reason. In the past ten years the money that the refineries spend for large jobs is almost always for repairs, upgrades because of new standards, maintenance, removing sulfur from diesel. They are always talking about bigger or newer crackers to increase the amount of production? But some bean counter always says profit over production! They already have the land, and half the storage tanks are rotting away in the tank farms. We are the sheep getting what they want us to have and no more!

[lazyfatass247]

easy man all i am bring light to is that i feel so what taken advantage of? Everyone is entitled to make money to a point.

Where is that point?

[Jagsare1]

Why do I never hear the amount of taxes that Exxon pays? They paid $30 Billion in taxes in 2007...yes, $30 BILLION. The gas prices piss me off but the govt is the bigger problem, not Exxon.

How about Q1 of 2008...try $9.3 billion. 49% of Q1 gross income. Are you getting it, the US govt profits from gas and oil heavily!
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/...s+%2B+analysis

[Thunnus Amongus]

Sad to say but the US Govt profits more on a gallon of gas that the Oil Company. If you are outraged at unfair profits, redirect your focus. At least the Oil Companies are paying huge taxes (passed on to us btw) and they gainfully employ tens of thousands of workers. What has the govt done for you?

[iguana1]

Some quick math. If Exxon makes 15B in profit in 3 months that equates to $50 per US Citizen, or $.54 per person per day. I find it hard to reconcile that with the $.09 per gallon (consumption is not 6 gallons PP/day). Just some numbers to consider. So basically my household buy Exxon a starbucks every day.

As it relates to govt 'profiting' from oil, one should consider that the direct gasoline taxes do actually have to fund something (called roads, we have lots of them and use them free). Feel free to do some reading someday on how the interstate highway system contributed to economic growth and maybe even tipped the balance in WW2.

[Jagsare1]

Roads are funded in many other ways as well so it is an oversimplification to say that gasoline taxes fund roads. Roads are an important part of our economy, ease of moving goods and such but I think the argument here is the massive tax burden the govt places on us all. Taxes on Exxon is just one part of it.