Congress drills oil executives on prices

Associated Press ^ | 4-1-08 | H. Josef Hebert

[kingattax]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top executives of the five biggest U.S. oil companies were pressed today to explain the soaring fuel prices amid huge industry profits and why they weren't investing more to develop renewable energy source such as wind and solar.

The executives, peppered with questions from skeptical lawmakers, said they understood that high energy costs are hurting consumers, but deflected blame, arguing that their profits — $123 billion last year — were in line with other industries.

"On April Fool's Day, the biggest joke of all is being played on American families by Big Oil," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said as his committee began hearing from the oil company executives.

With motorists paying a national average of $3.29 a gallon at the pump and global oil prices remaining above $100 a barrel, the executives were hard pressed by lawmakers to defend their profits.

"The anger level is rising significantly," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., relating what he had heard in his district during the recent two-week congressional recess.

Alluding to the fact that congressmen often don't rate very high in opinion polls, Mr. Cleaver told the executives: "Your approval rating is lower than ours and that means your down low."

[Patas]

Mean While the FOMC continues to destroy the value of the Dollar trying to rescue their buddies on Wall Street.
Any one with an education can point out that the lower the dollar goes the higher imported goods cost..IE oil. Especially when you induce hyper inflation into OPEC countries who have pegged their currencies to the Dollar and Its declining interest rates.

[thackney]

I keep hearing the reverse of this - not enough refinning capacity, but plenty of oil to refine

Where do you hear we have plenty of oil?

We use 20.7 MMBPD of Petroleum.

US Petroleum Product Supplied
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_cons_psup_dc_nus_mbblpd_a.htm

We import 10.0 MMBPD of Crude Oil.

We import 1.6 MMBPD of finished petroleum products to supplement our refineries.

US Petroleum Imports
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_imp_dc_NUS-Z00_mbblpd_a.htm

Which do you think is our biggest shortfall?

[thackney]

ExxonMobil 2007
Revenue $404.6 Billion
Profit $40.6 Billion (10.0%)
Taxes $102.5 Billion (25.3%)

Sales-Based taxes $31.728B
Other taxes and duties $40.953B
Income taxes $29.864B

2007 Financial & Operating Review
http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/files/news_pub_fo_2007.pdf
Page 16

- - - - - - - - -

ConocoPhillips 2007
Revenue $194.5 Billion
Profit $11.9 Billion (6.1%)
Taxes $30.4 Billion (15.6%)

Taxes other than income taxes $18.990B
Income taxes $11.891B

2007 Annual Report
http://www.conocophillips.com/NR/rdonlyres/3838234F-F20C-4BCE-AE8D-78DE29D67455/0/07RevisedARfinal.pdf
Page 60

- - - - - - - - -

Chevron 2007
Revenue $220.9 Billion
Profit $18.7 Billion (8.5%)
Taxes $35.7 Billion (16.2%)

Taxes other than income taxes $22.266B
Income taxes $13.479B

2007 Annual Report Supplement
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/13/130102/reports/CVX_ARsupp07.pdf
Page 3

[Eagles6]

Just goes to show you that a significant number of the people living in the US are easily led sheep and they deserve the representation they vote in.

I work in a socialist hell hole. A little brain dead girl whined that gas cost so much that she couldn't afford to eat. One of our few intrepid conservatives bravely pointed out that she buys her lunch every day and the bottled tap water that she buys for $1.25 a pint cost 3x as much as gas. He ended up apologizing for making her look stupid. Go figure.

[tatown]

With domestic refiners running at an average of ~82%, we have an excess of refining capacity right now.

[eyedigress]

Wasn’t that find in 1951, yet only now a looker because of the high cost of horizontal drilling?

[eyedigress]

How much do we export?

[BOBTHENAILER]

Very good point and thanks fer bringin’ it up. We’re the perennial whipping boy of liberal media and I get sick of it.

[anglian]

American families by Big Oil," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said as his committee began hearing from the oil company executives.

Democrats push for Alaska drilling ban Edward Markey (news, bio, voting record), chief sponsor of the legislation, said in an interview. Markey has introduced similar legislat

[thackney]

How much do we export?

Nnormally 27,000 barrels a day of Crude Oil to Canada, since they have the closest refinery for that production. Occasional upset conditions or other leaves us with a tanker to send to the highest bidder elsewhere.

Crude Oil Exports by destination
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_expc_a_EPC0_EEX_mbblpd_m.htm

[SoldierDad]

Still, no answer to my question: Who is lying here? I just heard not long ago that they don’t have enough refinery capacity to meet demand - meaning, there’s enough crude, just not enough facilities to refine it. Now someone is CLAIMING that they have plenty of capacity, but not enough crude. Sorry, these two don’t mesh.

[SoldierDad]

All of the comments made by oil industry execs over the course of the past several years have been that they don’t have enough refining capacity to meet the demand at the pump. What the hell do you think that means?

[SoldierDad]

No, I’ve not seen anything about a new find in North Dakota. But, while I was living there in the mid 70’s and early 80’s I know for a fact that they were drilling oil producing wells and then just capping them without pumping any oil out.

[SoldierDad]

Now, that just makes zero sense.

[thackney]

N.D.: Oil Rigs Drill on Big Lake
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994142/posts

BISMARCK, N.D. - The drilling frenzy in North Dakota’s oil patch has now reached beneath the state’s biggest lake.

Oil companies have begun tapping crude oil and gas underneath Lake Sakakawea, using advanced horizontal drill techniques.

Lynn Helms, the director of the state Department of Mineral Resources, said it was a logical extension to the formation known as the Middle Bakken, which lies two miles under the surface in western North Dakota and holds millions of barrels of oil.

Wells aiming for the Middle Bakken are drilled vertically to about 10,000 feet, and then “kick out” for as many feet horizontally. The technology has made huge advances in the past decade, industry officials say.

- - - - - - - - -

“That deep iceberg of oil in the Bakken formation is situated like a horseshoe, dropped irregularly on the northwest quadrant of the state and covering more than 24,000 square miles. The Bakken’s oil reserve could contain as much as 200 billion to 400 billion barrels of oil, which makes the 1.6 billion barrels produced in all of state history so far seem like a proverbial drop in the bucket.

The size of the reserve is under study by both the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey, with the new numbers expected out in the next two months. But records for state oil production and number of new wells permitted are teetering now.”

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/02/14/news/local/148870.txt

[SoldierDad]

You left out that gas prices are affected by the output of OPEC. We need to reduce or eliminate our dependency of foreign oil and soon.

[SoldierDad]

Yeah, we’re running out of crude/sarc

[RightWhale]

they don’t have enough refinery capacity to meet demand

Obviously they do.

[SoldierDad]

I’m not the one claiming this. Just commenting on what oil execs have been stating for the past several years.

[tobyhill]

They said refining is not a problem yesterday so when they used refining as an excuse as the price was $50 a barrel they must have been lying. Now that prices are $100 a barrel it’s a reasonable excuse for the prices of gas. At some point they lied and more than likely it was when they claimed the refining capacity couldn’t keep up with demand.