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"and the oil companies make about 9 cents per gallon"

That is right up there with the Easter Bunny.

"or force companies to sell gasoline at a loss"

Think of that as a temporary "tax" until the oil markets settle. But they really wouldn't be selling at a loss. We all know that.

That is right up there with the Easter Bunny

Actually, its not. Most oil companies are publicly held. Their financial records are public knowledge. You can calculate the figures yourself. The volume of product the oil industry puts out every day is mind-boggling.

Or, coming from the other direction, about 10% of our gasoline is imported already refined (because we don't have the refining capacity to meet demand). That 10% is around 60 million gallons per day. So, the oil industry is putting out about 600 million gallons of gasoline per day.

Multiply that times 365 and times 9 cents and you'll see where the profit figures come from.

Of course, profit is not the same thing as dividends or cash on hand. The oil industry is very capital intensive. Most of the profits are reinvested back into the business, but unless they are expenses (like depreciation), they show up on the balance sheet, not the income statement. Like any business, profits can be high, but that doesn't necessarily translate into being rolling in cash. Income statements are only part of the overall picture.

If you compare the profitability of oil companies to businesses in general, in the last few years the oil companies have moved from "pathetic" to "below average". The numbers are huge because the oil industry is huge, but the returns compared to other businesses are only "record-setting" when you compare them to the awful historical performance of the oil industry.