Why You Treat Me Like a Dog?: Oil Execs to Be Asked to Justify Profits

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Oil Execs to Be Asked to Justify Profits

I find it unbelievable that people at the grassroots level aren't raising hell about this.

Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, announced earnings for
the third quarter of $9.9 billion, on revenue of $100 billion. Royal Dutch Shell said it had
profits of $9 billion, while ConocoPhillips earned $3.8 billion, nearly double profits a year
earlier.

As we all pay nearly $3/gallon, poised to begin the winter heating season with the highest oil prices ever recorded in the United States, Exxon, Shell and Conoco rake in record profits. It remains to be seen at the November 9th Senate hearing how their executives can justify this.

"Consumers are increasingly feeling that they are being taken for a ride," Sen. Larry
Craig, R-Idaho, said at a hearing last week.

I have heard rumblings about taxing the oil companies profits and about a potential federal energy price gouging law. The oil companies say they plan on investing their profits in infrastructure. As if building more refineries or drilling new wells will somehow lower consumer prices? Consumer prices will only be lowered if the oil companies lower their wholesale prices. That would mean less profit for them, of course.

Either way, for the foreseeable future, prices will remain high, and even if the oil companies are taxed consumers will still have to foot the bill. A grassroots boycott of these giant corporations could be considered and possibly have some positive effects, but would have such a negative impact on our collective lifestyles that it would be a very hard sell to the public. We are so dependent on the oil companies, and I unfortunately feel we will continue to be held hostage by them unless Washington takes an aggressive stance against their pricing practices. With Bush and his Texas buddies in office, I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, I'm driving my 1.8L Passat and only filling the tank every couple of weeks...

Makes you want to take more drastic measures, like my friend at Get Off Oil.

- posted by wanderer @ 8:14 PM

Comments:

I have no problem with them making money, its when their profits double and I'm paying double at the pump that makes me think something is not right. Greed comes to mind - sure oil prices are higher, but rather than absorbing some of this cost increase, and still maintaining their more than adequate income stream, I suspect that there is some price gouging going on, taking advantage of the consumer and leading to the record profits we are witnessing. That's just not right.

# posted by

wanderer : 11/12/2005 10:48 PM

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