Pumping Up Part Two: Oil Companies Post Record Profits

Pumping Up Part Two

Exxon Mobil Profit, Sales Soar to Records
DALLAS (AP) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) rewrote the corporate record books Thursday as the oil company's third-quarter earnings soared to almost $10 billion and it became the first public company ever with quarterly sales topping $100 billion. Anglo-Dutch competitor Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) wasn't far behind, posting a profit of $9 billion for the quarter.

Big Rise in Profit Places Oil Giants on the Defensive
A sudden interruption in oil supplies sent prices and profits skyrocketing, prompting Exxon's chief executive to call a news conference right after his company announced that it had chalked up record earnings.

Energy windfall called both "absurd," logical
Record profits reported Thursday by Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell are:
a) expected
b) obscene
c) good for America
d) a function of free markets
e) all of the above

Oil profits off the charts
Yesterday oil companies released their third quarter profits, and they were large. ExxonMobil earned a net income of $9.92 billion, which is the most any U.S. company has earned in a three-month period… ever. Royal Dutch Shell raked in a little over $9 billion itself, while BP earned $6.5 billion, ConocoPhillips $3.8 billion and ChevronTexaco $3.9 billion. Any hardships caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were offset by the record high price of crude oil, hitting $70/barrel at one point in the third quarter. USA Today reports that while consumer backlash is expected for such high profits during a time when most motorists are being pinched at the pump, the oil companies are stressing that their industry is cyclical and it wasn’t that long ago in 2001 when the combined quarterly profits of these companies totaled less than $10 billion. Aww… poor babies.

Bush Administration Rules Out Special Oil Company Tax
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration, facing mounting pressure from Congress to address record energy costs, today ruled out a tax on soaring oil company profits.

Related: Pumping Up: Oil Companies Post Record Profits

Tension: 150
Gravity: 150

Topics: News, Gulf Coast, Mobile Alabama, Hurricane, Katrina Wilma, tropical storm, Rita, Bush, economy

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