In heated hearings, oil bosses defend big profits

profitable??? And what pray tell is too MUCH profit. Always take advantage is the watchword of the oil companies.

That is, Bush called them and said, hey guys, go for it, make all the money you can........

:hi:

The senators should tell these companies to use their profits to develop renewable resource technologies. Either that, or Big Oil will earn a a nice big "gouge tax." Unfortunately, senators like Dominici don't have the balls to stand up to Big Oil, not to mention they're probably paid off in campaign contributions.

The hearing sounds like a joke so far.

"The chiefs of five major oil companies defended the industry’s huge profits Wednesday at a Senate hearing where lawmakers said they should explain prices and assure people they’re not being gouged."

I think it's fully grown.

Make the connection, folks. You don't have record profits w/o sticking it to your dependent clientele.

SNIP assure people they’re not being gouged.

Doesn't Scotty McClellan "assure" us every day that the boy king is doing the right thing; that he has our best interests at heart; etc., etc., etc. Assurances mean nothing.

How in the world OTHER than price fixing, can $100 million oil companies maintain the same prices over a ten-year period as $100 billion oil companies, and thus, compete?

Why do gas prices rise so quickly when the price of a barrel of oil increases, yet fall so slowly when the price of the same barrel of oil drops at the same rate as the rise?

Why do we constantly hear the oil companies say "it's a supply" problem - we do not have enough refinery capacity," yet none of the oil companies ever seems to build new refineries in the USA?

Sham.

EOM

...as they did in the 90's to boost profits.

Internal Memos Show Oil Companies Intentionally Limited Refining Capacity To Drive Up Gasoline Prices

Santa Monica, CA -- The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) today exposed internal oil company memos that show how the industry intentionally reduced domestic refining capacity to drive up profits. The exposure comes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as the oil industry blames environmental regulation for limiting number of U.S. refineries.

The three internal memos from Mobil, Chevron, and Texaco (Click here to read the memos.) show different ways the oil giants closed down refining capacity and drove independent refiners out of business. The confidential memos demonstrate a nationwide effort by American Petroleum Institute, the lobbying and research arm of the oil industry, to encourage the major refiners to close their refineries in the mid-1990s in order to raise the price at the pump.

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/pr/?postId=5110

Without starting a flame war - keep in mind that all companies in the world would kill for a product like gasoline.

Oil companies know we can't easily switch our driving habits or how products are shipped across this country. We can't switch them overnight, let alone over the course of the year.

How long could they have kept gas prices at $3.29 a gallon? My guess is they could have done it for quite a while before demand tapered off. What would their profits be this quarter - with oil prices now under $60 a barrel - if they continued to cry about production issues?

As long as the government doesn't get involved in changing our habits (not likely - no CAFE increases, no add'l funding for mass transit, eliminating LIHEAP for the poor, etc. from these assholes), the oil companies can charge what they want.

And the only reason they have been so "courteous" to us (and by courteous, I mean, not charging $6.00 a gallon), is that they don't want the next administration to come in and make waves for their little cash cow.

Flame away - but these meetings don't mean a hill of beans if the government doesn't step in to change how we consume or produce energy.

And every time, he pokes the barrel of the gun right up under my left nostril and with a cheery hiss informs me that he's a little disappointed that I didn't have more money. Then he calls me a motherfucker and we both call it a night.

But I'm not being robbed! The thief told me so.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/congress_oil;_ylt=AsDHycrtMxXw5BHXJsbwDhas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

WASHINGTON - The chiefs of five major oil companies defended the industry's huge profits Wednesday at a Senate hearing where they were exhorted to explain prices and assure customers they're not being gouged.

Lee Raymond, chairman of Exxon Mobil Corp., said he recognizes that high gasoline prices "have put a strain on Americans' household budgets" but he defended his companies huge profits, saying petroleum earnings "go up and down" from year to year.

Democrats had wanted the executives to testify under oath, but Republicans rejected the idea. "If I were a witness I would demand to be put under oath," said Sen. Daniel Inouye (news, bio, voting record), D-Hawaii. The soaring prices have sent shivers through a Congress worried about political fallout.

The oil industry's record third-quarter profits — at a time when motorists were reeling from unprecedentedly high gasoline costs and warned of huge heating bills this winter — have caught the attention of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Some analysts predict the 29 largest oil companies will earn $96 billion this year.

Co.'s charging what they can for gas/heating oil. The higher they charge the more attractive renewable, domestically produced, technologically driven substitues become (ie solar, wind et al). At some point we will hit the tipping point when crude oil will go the way of whale oil, and these high price charges drive us to that point.

The real purpose of these hearings is for the republicans to say to the oil co.'s look, we gave you all that pork in the energy bill, you need to pay us back with some gesture that will make us popular with voters, or we will call you here and be mad at you. The real sin was ever giving this industry pork in the first place. Pork artificially strengthens this industry to the detriment of substitutes.

that's really nasty profit volatility

Hope they extend the hearings. We may yet break back under two bucks.

Fat Bast.. er, Cat

They're full of caa caa. What sucks is the f*ckers will get away with it!!! :grr: