Windfall For Big Oil Companies

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AP   |  Jane Wardell   |   April 29, 2008 12:24 PM

Read More: Big Oil, Oil Companies, Oil Company Profits, Record Oil Company Profits, Record Oil Profits, Breaking Business News
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BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's two biggest oil producers, posted forecast-busting first-quarter earnings on Tuesday thanks to record crude oil prices that are expected to bolster profits across the industry.

The combined profits of $17 billion reignited calls for a windfall tax on oil profits as consumers struggle to pay for food and fuel.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that some of those profits should be reinvested in costly exploration for new oil reserves in the North Sea.

BP posted a 63 percent surge in first-quarter net profit to $7.6 billion (4.9 billion euros), while Shell reported a 25 percent rise, to a record $9.08 billion (5.81 billion euros).

Revenue at BP jumped 44 percent to $89.2 billion (57.1 billion euros), while sales at Shell soared 55 percent to $114 billion (72.95 billion euros).

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- beekeeper See Profile I'm a Fan of beekeeper

AMERICANS GET WHAT THEY VOTED FOR. I hope this continues to hit them hard in the pocket book. Only then will they wake up and make changes.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:26 PM on 04/29/2008
- MissingAmerica See Profile I'm a Fan of MissingAmerica

Please, not all of us voted for this. In fact, think about it. It would appear that most of us DID NOT vote for him. He is in because he was placed by his father's Supreme Court the first time, and he manipulated the voting in Florida and elsewhere the second time. Bush stole the election. The ones we need to wake up and make the necessary changes are those in CONGRESS! They have the option to impeach, and they're not using it. Sadly, this doesn't hit THEM in the pocket book. We need to find someone to protect us from those who are supposed to be protecting us!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:24 PM on 04/30/2008
- legalgirl See Profile I'm a Fan of legalgirl

Stop trading oil futures! Unless, of course, you believe that water or oxygen futures should be traded, too.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:28 PM on 04/29/2008
- torrrep See Profile I'm a Fan of torrrep

I guess you people don't understand how businesses run. You also don't understand what the numbers mean. Shell oil's SALES increased 55% yet their PROFIT only increased 25%. SO do you know what that means? It means somewhere along the line they LOST money. But I wouldn't expect you libs to understand that. Microsoft and the rest of the computer industry had FAR LARGER profit margins (around 28%) than any of the oil companies yet I don't hear anyone calling for "windfall" taxes on the computer industry. Many of you need to go take a simple math class and a basic economics class. If a company increases sales then of course their profits are going to increase. Now if sales where going DOWN and profits were INCREASING then I would be concerned. But that is NOT what is happening here. For every quarter that you libs complain about profits going up you will notice that sales have also sharply increased. Are you saying that companies should increase sales and decreases profits? I certainly would not want any of you in charge of my finances because you don't have the first clue as to how businesses operate.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:51 PM on 04/29/2008
- RoloTomassi See Profile I'm a Fan of RoloTomassi

GOP Shills have no credibility here; your argument does not hold water, but I will not argue the point, as you will LIE in an attempt to gain advantage--you are a Republican, such is your MO, and you cannot be trusted on any topic that concerns fiscal responsibility or business practices.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:38 AM on 04/30/2008
- CarbondaleKid See Profile I'm a Fan of CarbondaleKid

You are confused about Liberal (actually Progressive) citizens of the United States. My Liberal friends do not drive huge Suburbans and F-350 dually's to fetch their groceries. Our Conservative friends have that honor. High gasoline prices are beneficial to us. These high prices force Conservatives to walk and ride their bicycles. Plus, we Liberals keep money saved for a rainy day. This allows us to buy shares in BP and profit $10 a share is less than two weeks. See, we Liberals are Reality Based humans and see life's circumstances as they are, not as we wish they would be. It didn't take the skills of Nostradamus to see these high gas prices coming. Torrrep is correct that the OilCo's refining margins are down. Gasoline prices would be MUCH higher if they passed the entire increase of the crude oil price to their customers. Oil executives are not stupid. They do not want their customers to adopt alternative forms of transportation. We Liberals would be happy to pay increased taxes to help pay for dedicated bike paths and electric cart trails leading to schools and shopping, thus reducing the demand for gasoline and forcing down prices. You know, supply and demand.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:40 AM on 04/30/2008
- beekeeper See Profile I'm a Fan of beekeeper

UH....THEY ARE NOT LOSING MONEY. Wake up

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:25 PM on 04/29/2008
- wolf58 See Profile I'm a Fan of wolf58

Please show us all any computer company who has made 7.6 and 9.08 billion in the first quarter, Then show us the same for what Exxon Moble made in the first quarter. Then show us the tax breaks that were given to the computer companies. Then show us any computer company who's price effects almost every part of the economy. If you get that far please show us a computer company that effects national security by driving the price so high that it effects, jobs, food prices,travel, life and death and hot and cold. When a computer company over charges the people will just stop buying to bad we can't do the same with oil companies, yet.
You sound like a stock holder, or someone who can afford the price no matter what if so good for you. I don't think the average person gives two shits on your breakdown when they are trying how to feed their family fill their car so they can make it to a job that they may not have tommorrow.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:37 PM on 04/29/2008
- hoopesaz See Profile I'm a Fan of hoopesaz

He's talking about percentages. As a percentage of revenue, Oil companies ear FAR lower profits than the average company in the computer industry. So, what does windfall profits mean? An obscene dollar amount? Or an obscene percentage of revenue?

To his point, Microsofts profits are far more obscene than any oil company when you consider the goods sold. And to think that a windfall tax somehow generates money out of the sky...well, it just doesn't work. Companies will charge you more to make up at least some of the difference. Your 401K's, pensions, and other retirement accounts will suffer as well as the oil company stocks lose value.

It's just a knee jerk reaction to something most people don't understand. If anything, encourage Oil companies to invest some of the huge profits into alternative energy sources.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:32 PM on 04/29/2008
- RoloTomassi See Profile I'm a Fan of RoloTomassi

GOP Shills have no credibility here.

As to alternative energy sources via Big Oil, it would be a terrible mistake to fall for that. Big Oil's primary concern in that area is hydrogen fuel cells, and the plan is simple: continue to bilk consumers at the highest rate possible for petroleum products, then transition them to hydrogen products once the oil has run out and the ultra-expensive infrastructure for hydrogen delivery has been paid for on the back of oil consumers.

Hydrogen is distinctive in two ways; it is the least practical of all alternative fuel sources, and it is the most popular with Big Oil, Big Business, and, of course, with Republicans.

So, the second half of that is enough to convince me that hydrogen as an alternative fuel source must be opposed at every opportunity; add in the practicality and expense factors, and I immediately smell typical NeoCon government / corporate collusion at play. IMO, we've had quite enough of that.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:55 AM on 04/30/2008
- GeoNorth See Profile I'm a Fan of GeoNorth

This is sick. The oil companies are running the biggest scam in the history of the world. And how do they do it? We let them. Our representatives in Washington don't do a damn thing. McCain's idea of a tax holiday this summer is more of the shell game. We won't be saving anything. What we need is a hefty tax on gas. That will cut our consumption...which is good for the environment...and it will cut into the oil companies profits because they won't sell that much. Eventually, they will have to cut their prices to make it move.

The big argument against this is that we move so much product in this country by truck and their extra expenses will be passed on to us. Guess what? It already has, but it is the oil companies that make out. If the price went up in taxes, the windfall would go directly into our coffers. Hate earmarks? Here's where the earmarks would benefit us. We could use the windfall for our infrastructure.

HIllary has proposed a windfall tax on the oil companies. Sure, it sounds good, but they would just monkey with the numbers and we get screwed again. We deserve better.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:31 PM on 04/29/2008
- mcthorogood See Profile I'm a Fan of mcthorogood

For the past 30 years, U.S. presidents have admitted that our dependency on oil is a clear and present danger. The GAO and DOE conclude that there is no coordinated federal effort to find replaceable energy sources.

The Hirsch report entitled "Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management" was published in 2005 by the Dept. of Energy. "Peak oil" is when maximum oil production is reached and then continually declines afterward. In the U.S. peak oil was reached in the 1970's. Many other countries have already reached peak oil, and global peak oil is predicted to occur between 2010 and 2040. However, the insatiable demand for oil continues to increase as China, India and many third world countries develop.

The U.S. has a small fraction of the world's population, but uses almost one third of the current oil supply. The oil crises of the 1970's have taught us little about energy conservation. Today the mileage efficiency of American autos are one half that of German autos. The countries most vulnerable to peak oil are those with the greatest demand and those without alternative energy sources.

So here we are again at another presidential election. The federal government is essentially bankrupt, there is no coordinated federal effort to develop alternative energy, and the most expensive war in history continues - for a 100 years?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:54 PM on 04/29/2008
- Paul See Profile I'm a Fan of Paul

Ya wanna stick it to the oil companies?

Pass a law that says the price of gas at the pump can never go down. Whatever its highest point is, that's the way it stays until it goes higher.

When gas is $7/gal forever we can start building a decent mass transit system and forget about buying cars.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:38 PM on 04/29/2008
- PierreLeClerke See Profile I'm a Fan of PierreLeClerke

3. Immediately offer a $5,000 to $10,000 direct rebate to all persons and companies purchasing and installing domestically manufactured or privately manufactured Alternative energy systems in homes and buildings that reduce the unit consumption of total energy use buy 50% or more. The low end would be for 50% percent energy reductions and the high rate would be for systems achieving over 75% reductions in overall unit energy consumption. This action will immediately create enormous investment into the alternative energy sector and create manufacturing jobs at historical levels. google PierreLeClerke for the balance of a real energy plan

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:08 PM on 04/29/2008
- trollsbwild See Profile I'm a Fan of trollsbwild

The oil companies should have to pony us some bucks to help with the cost of the war. After all, it is THEIR oil fields. Also, at what point does excessive profiteering begin to constitute a violation of law? Are we supposed to belive there is no price gouging going on?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:02 PM on 04/29/2008
- Jeff1958 See Profile I'm a Fan of Jeff1958

Record high prices. Record high profits. I'm shocked. We need a new government to prevent this oligopoly from ruining our economy.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:02 PM on 04/29/2008
- torrrep See Profile I'm a Fan of torrrep

Record high sales. I guess you never bothered to take that into account.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:53 PM on 04/29/2008
- RoloTomassi See Profile I'm a Fan of RoloTomassi

Blatant dishonesty on display in your posts on this topic. As if the record profits have NOTHING to do with the record high PRICES, as if the cost of delivery and exploration has increase by the same percentage that prices have increased.

You fool no one.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:06 AM on 04/30/2008
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