Oil Companies were making good profits in 1999 @ $1.35 per gallon

[Bandit]

They could do so again. There is no reason on earth for them to be making net profits in the billions. Especially quarterly net profits. They are sticking it to Americans gleefully with GOP support. Bush* sure complained mightily when gas prices went up fifteen cents during the Clinton term. He said if he were President he would jaw bone the prices back down. All it took he said was talking to the Big Oil Companies. Exxon makes Enron look like Pikers..There is no justification..NONE. They are robbing Americans with GOP support.

[BuyingThyme]

1. Yep.

[Robbien]

2. And now they are making better profits

What part of Ownership Society don't you understand?

[Bandit]

7. Not even American Companies, based offshore to avoid taxes

You would have really loved the robber baron years of the twenties and thirties. What part of price gouging don't you understand. Bush* and Cheney love the "ownership society"..Americans get fucked and you think all is swell. :shrug: Do you think ticket scalpers are just fine and dandy as well?

[Robbien]

12. Totally agree with you

Guess the irony in my post wasn't clear.

[phantom power]

3. They know their supply of oil is passing peak.

If you start from that premise, what they are doing makes perfect sense. They are destabilizing the economy and alienating their customer base because they no longer have anything to lose. It's the final harvest, and maintaining sustainable behavior is no longer useful to them. Maximizing profits with their remaining resources is optimal.

[cynatnite]

4. They're going after shale oil here in the US...

It's high enough to make open-pit mining financially feasible. Colorado and Utah are the states they've got their eye on.

[phantom power]

6. It's not going to go anywhere.

My only hope is that they don't try to go after it anyway, out of desperation. It will be a catastrophe for the environment, and it won't provide enough oil to make much difference.

[cynatnite]

10. Here's a recent article....

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/29/business/bxshale.php

[riverdale]

5. I don't buy that

There is a shitload of oil in the ground, specifically in Iraq. The reason we started the Iraq war was to keep that oil OFF the market, and allowing the oil barons unfettered control of the world market.

[phantom power]

8. Production rates are now falling in three of the four supegiant fields.

Likewise the north sea. Not that slowly, either, thanks to the widespread use of water forcing and fractional flow curves. The peak oil skeptics make a lot of noise about new fields making up for the shortfall, but it's mostly noise. Anyway, if I'm right, it should become obvious in 1-2 years.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. "There is no reason on earth for them to be making net profits in the billions."

The reason is greed. That and the simple fact that they can get away with it.

[ComerPerro]

11. And Republicans bitched and moaned about $1.35