Oil giant Exxon reports another record gain - Earnings- msnbc.com

Oil is certainly an interesting business where a futures trading pit sets the price of oil contracts around the world and oil companies either benefit or lose money based on that trading. I guess the same can be said for all the commodities traded on the futures markets, natural gas, wheat, corn, cotton, etc.

As long as they pay their taxes, pay their employees well, try to benefit the communities where they have major facilities, then I really don't have a problem how much profit oil companies make. It has always been the beauty of the economic system in America, there are winners and there are losers. If greed is being equated with making a profit, then I would say greed is good. It has built the strongest economic system in the world. It should serve us well in the future.

Well said peter. Sounds like you might have or do own a business and know what it means to take a risk and hopfully not be criticised if you happen to make a profit.

How utterly pathetic, makes you want to puke.
Who the heck needs 11 billion dollars.
This is beyond ridiculous !!!
And the republicans voted down the windfall tax!!

Nice !!

Hope they all get what they got coming. Greedy, Bastages

To all of you supposedly educated people....
1. For the people that think that the Super-Major Oil Companies are raking in a dollar or two per gallon of gasoline let's do some quick arithmethic : 125.00 per bbl = 2.97 per gallon of Crude Oil. (ps there are 42 gallons per barrel) so that leaves roughly a dollar to include transportation costs (pipeline, etc), refining costs, final delivery costs, etc. so if you will just step back and look at it, the Big Bad Oil Companies are making maybe....maybe .10 per gallon of gasoline.....not what you expected was it?

2. For the over-reacting envorinmentalists that think that the Oil Companies are going to spew poison all over your pristine beaches.....You see if some of you would do a little bit of research before getting on Mr. Gores Interweb and sounding like a retard, there are a few things you should know about.....First of all : CFR 250 (Code of Federal Regulations Part 250), API RP 14C, etc, etc. These are the federal laws that tell Operators (Oil Companies) what they can and cannot do and what penalties (Criminal and Civil) that will be involved in violating said laws. Just for your info the Offshore Oil Industry is the 2nd most heavily regulated industry in the US, the first being Nuclear Power Generation. So let your little green fingers do the walking over to Google or what ever SE you prefer and do a little research.

3. Lastly....Alot of us in La, Al, Tex, and Ms, are getting really, really tired of most of you whining about high gasoline prices and then in the same breath whining about NO OFFSHORE DRILLING.....we supply roughly 25% to 30% of the nations domestic energy off of our coastlines and are happy to do it, so think about not just all ofthe domestic energy that we could produce, but all of the well paying jobs that would be a direct and IMMEDIATE benefit of opening up the OCS for lease and drilling....it creates well, well paying jobs directly, and untold ancillary well paying jobs.....so the next time you people on the East or West coast turn up your nose about the south and those uneducated boors....please remember that we on the South Coast provide alot of what you whine about, yet still take for granted.......you are very, very welcome you ungrateful, ingratiating, and ignorant people.

BEFORE YOU TALK SMACK.....RESEARCH IS ADVISED

You know what I think is wrong about this whole thing is that our elected officials didn't bother to vote against a bill to make the oil companies responsible for this gasoline scare. I mean they voted give themselves a 40% raise, and mainly to fill their own pockets. No matter how you look at it and though you complain about most of this, the fact of the matter is that our government doesn't really care about the middle class and lower middle class people. As long as their pockets are filled and their luxuries at sated, they will continue this dilemma until, (1) the country is run into the ground, or (2) someone comes in and takes over. You see, we, the American people, should start standing up for ourselves and start having a voice instead of sitting back in our cozy homes and complaining about it. All I am saying is that we need to do something quick before we all end up having to stand in a welfare line.

it's funny, the japanese and even gm have the technology to fix this today. electric and hydrogen energy exists.

now, do we need government to force the manufacture of this new system. you see, we need new energy stations; clearly exxon only want the brick and mortar; it has no patents on hydrogen or electric technology compared relative to its income.

so, we need new companies to create the devices and sell them to exxon and texaco and conoco and arco and mobil and shell and valero, etc.

the problem is we lay-off employees on the order of 10000, 20000, 60000, 100000 per month sometimes and so there in lies the solution. who cares what happens to exxon or the other energy companies when this new system is activated. the fortune 500 companies in the year 1988 experienced roughly an 80% failure rate as of today.

Yes, that right, 400 of the top 500 companies are gone. so, why worry about anything. no company is worth saving over the environment and its inhabitants, one of which are the sentient beings called humans. they possess one quality that sets them above all other life on earth:

they have the inane ability to see cause and effect apriori to the actual event. in other words, they can create many senarios of cause to elicite the desired effect. they use this in marketing advertising and election campains all the time. they are quite effective.

the angels only hope they use this gift to fix their world. the most efficicient government to get this started would likely be a socialist or facist regeigm. a free market economy assumes that profitable companies will effect little change to their corporate plan and strategy when they are making desirable profits. this free market economy also assumes non-profitable companies will have zero impact toward energy technolgies due to cost constraints and opportunity costs. this leaves newly created businesses to resolve this issue.

the problem is global and to expect a new business to lasso this and grow the market to profitable units of profitability is ludicrous.

so, if the united states cannot solve this today, with legislation today. why on earth are they worried about passing legislation regarding food, heath care, smoking, guns, freedom, liberty, justice. all of this is nothing without a planet that alive.

5-10 years of waiting any longer to eliminate oil and coal and nuclear energy altogether, will be way too late.

and so, what politicians are going to stand up for life, liberty and freedom, over self-indulgent political gains. politicians, look at your life. now, how many of you really believe the deals you made 2 or more years ago are more important than new energy systems (hydrogen and electric) for today and for the masses.

so, put down everything your working and get this new system started or just resign. no one cares if you do nothing otherwise it's just the same bull@!$%# with no one rocking the boat free of shore.

I ask the media not to let this go. This is out of control and our government settles for these lame excuses from BIG OIL. I do understand that there are many different aspects to resolving this issue, but it's time to do something about it.

The number of comments posted here clearly indicates how much of an issue this really is.

EXXON PAYS RECORD $32.36 BILLION in TAXES ON $11.68 BILLION in PROFITS
Why don't you print the whole truth.
People see what they consider huge profits when they're paying record prices at the pumps.
What they don't see and what you don't report are the taxes that EXXON pays.
You promote the profits of Exxon so people will focus on EXXON and big oil but the taxes paid by big oil are 3 time their profits.
On $11.68 billion in NET profits EXXON paid $32.36 billion in taxes on $138 billion in total revenue.That's 8.4% net profit.Anyone in business knows 8% is not exorbitant profits.

And then you could do a little reporting on OPEC profits while our own oil is off limits.

What is Congress doing about supply?

Starting wages on an oil rig are around $26 an hour in North Dakota,with benefits and overtime a lot of men I know are making close to $100 thousand a year.
With Ford,GM and others losing money I'm would be sadly disappointed if even the oil companies were losing money.

I can't remember the last time I purchased gas at Exxon... I'll push my car to any other gas station before I'd spend a penny at Exxon (not that you can buy anything for less than $20 anymore, much less a penny).

Exxon Embargo of 2008, who's with me?

Terry in SC,

Is that all? I mean only 11 billion?

Please do not fall prey to an ignorant media, who doesn't concern itself with investigative reporting.

The facts are, Congress has restricted domestic oil production. Those restrictions reduce exploration and new production, meaning Exxon funds slated for re-investment are stymied and diverted into company profit. Oil companies are not to blame here. Congressional energy policies are. Let me explain.

Our country energy policy relies heavily on oil imports, and discourages domestic growth. As the demand for oil increases due to population and economic growth, domestic production remains constant and foreign imports increase to cover the greater demand.

The real story is OPEC revenue. OPEC revenues are off the charts. In 2007 OPEC revenue was 671 Billion. In 2008 it jumped to 1.2 Trillion. Projections for 2009 are 1.3 Trillion. About 850 billion of annual OPEC revenue are U.S. dollars being sent overseas in exchange for oil. That is a huge failure of US energy policy, and the largest transfer of wealth in modern history.

OPEC revenue source: http://cleantechlawandbusiness.com/cleanbeta/index.php/510/opec-profits-to-more-than-double-in-2008/

One solution that gets no press is this. According to the USGS, North America has 214 Billion barrels of recoverable oil (Canada, USA, Mexico). By all estimates that is about 5 years of oil consumption in North America. It doesn't sound like much, but if we formed a North American OPEC, the additional barrels would impact global supply, reduce imports, and would help stabilize oil prices. When you include this with a multi-pronged plan to switch over to alternative energy by 2030, it makes a lot of sense. This 22 year transition period would require our electric grid transition from coal to nuclear power, cars transition to electric / hydrogen, and investments in wind and solar.

It's doable. But lacks political will.

This country is a bunch of wimps who believe what the press and the politicians say about the oild industry......"obscene profits", "record profits", "made $11.4 billion, and the famous "windfall profits tax"

I guess no one in the modern USA has heard of capitalism, free enterprise and PROFIT MARGINS.
The US oil industry works on an average Profit Margin of 7.4%. US manufacturing (minus the auto industry that is in the tubes) works on an average PROFIT MARGIN of 9.2%
Did you know that last year, Microsoft PROFIT MARGIN was 28%, and lets not even think about the PROFIT MARGINS of the pharmaceutical industry.
Will congress assess a "windfall profit tax" on Microsoft, how about nationalizing them like they want to do to the oil industry.
Do you realize how many unions (not my favorites) pension plans, police plans, firemen plans, teachers and Mutual Funds rely on the Oil Industry Profits. I bet they would love a "windfall profits tax".
Grow up America...take a crash course in Economics.....THINK FOR A CHANGE!!!!

I am not angry that the oil guys are making a huge profit, I hope for the same in every legal business. I also hope for this wind fall profit to be given back to those that help make it possible, as a "thank you". Even a dog needs a little in return sometime! Look at the ruling family in Kuwait, they sell the oil and then make sure their citizens get a share.....Ask your President for your fair share. Don't forget...our next Pesident ought to also follow through and get our fair share. TIK

Vote Obama and a windfall proft tax? Let's think about what that means.

First of all, Exxon paid nearly 36B in taxes in the quarter they produced a 12B profit. SO the gov't already takes 75% of their profits before taxes (36B out of 48B).

Obama calls this excessive and wants to make it higher. What percentage of profit should a company be able to keep? What should we cap on the American Dream. Apparently, many don't want America to be a land of opportunity, rather, a country where there is a cap.

OK...lets say we make it oil company can keep only 5% of profit. That would let Exxon have 2.4B in profit, and the gov't gets an additional 9.5B.

OK...so our gov't already gets 36B, and now thay get another 9.5B. This windfall tax is going after pennies on a dollar compared to what they already receive.

But do you think Exxon is going to let their profits go that low. I didn't think so either. There is a mantra in economics. Corporations don't pay taxes, their customers do. So you can expect the cost of the windfall tax be passed onto you and I and result in higher gas prices.

BTW...in the 80's, were you crusading to save the oil industry when they were struggling to make a profit and there was a local recession in Houston. Or were you just happy that gas was less than a dollar a gollon?

BTW...I am in no way affiliated with oil companies. Rather, just understand that higher taxes on companies reult in higher prices to the customer. That is the last thing we should want.