Steamed up my afternoon

[jjirons69]

$98 to fill up today - $3.62/gal at Costco. I know a lot of you pay higher than that and have way more room to complain. Just reading this today made my ears hot, especially after getting gas at lunch!

This is 1st quarter profits - first quarter only...The days of low gas prices are gone.



The six biggest publicly traded oil companies reported a total of more than $38 billion in first-quarter profits.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The first three months of the year were good to the oil industry -- although American drivers and their elected leaders are not offering congratulations.

This week, the world's six largest publicly traded oil companies reported a combined $38.1 billion in first-quarter profits. Of the so-called supermajors, only BP (BP)'s earnings declined from the year before.

The windfall stems from a surge in the price of oil, which jumped 16% in the first quarter, rising firmly above $100 a barrel in March.

But the spike in oil prices has been a blow to consumers, with gas prices rising near record highs across America.

As a result, the oil industry has come under fire from lawmakers in Washington for reaping billions in profits while U.S. drivers get squeezed.

Now, Big Oil is fighting back.

Shortly after posting first-quarter earnings of nearly $11 billion Thursday, Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) issued a defensive statement arguing that it's not to blame for $4 gas. The company put part of the blame for soaring oil and gas prices on the U.S. government.

"For every gallon of gasoline and other products we refined and sold in the United States, we earned about 7 cents," said a statement from Exxon vice president Ken Cohen. "Compare that to the 40 to 60 cents per cents per gallon that went to the government (state and federal) in gasoline taxes."

The industry's top lobbyist also went on the offensive, saying the earnings that these companies reported this week reflect a strong economy and are a boon for investors, including many pension funds.

"The U.S. oil and natural gas industry's strong earnings signal growing strength in our economy," said Jack Gerard, chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute. He said Americans "should be proud" of an industry that supports millions of jobs and provides income for retirees who have shares of profitable oil companies in their retirement accounts.

The industry comments came after President Obama renewed his call for Congress to end tax breaks for the industry that he says are worth $4 billion. "As we work together to reduce our deficits, we simply can't afford these wasteful subsidies," the president wrote Tuesday in a letter to congressional leaders.

[markem]

$4.17 a gallon for me. I don't drive a lot, but still feel the pinch.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by markem

$4.17 a gallon for me. I don't drive a lot, but still feel the pinch.

You can call it a "pinch". I think it's more like having your testicles crushed in a vice.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Steve]

Originally Posted by markem

$4.17 a gallon for me. I don't drive a lot, but still feel the pinch.

Originally Posted by pnoon

You can call it a "pinch". I think it's more like having your testicles crushed in a vice.

Agreed!

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by pnoon

You can call it a "pinch". I think it's more like having your testicles crushed in a vice.
Posted via Mobile Device

So that's what that feels like!!!

Paid $4.17 per gallon this morning!

[N2 GOLD]

I spent $125 to fill up my truck, $10 on each of my quads & another $21 on each of my 5 gal tanks. WFT!!!



Thats $187 just to ride this weekend...

[kelmac07]

$ 3.84 here in Virginia!!

[357]

$4.20 in Metro Detroit/Flint area

In Calif.: Profit < $.02 per gal, taxes > $.66 per gal.
Profit margin of Exxon as percent: 7.5%
A 7.5% margin is not all that great in any business.

It would cost me $200 to fill my pickup. I haven't filled it an a long time now.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

In Calif.: Profit < $.02 per gal, taxes > $.66 per gal.
Profit margin of Exxon as percent: 7.5%
A 7.5% margin is not all that great in any business.

I'm not all that good at math, but I can't see how 2 cents profit on a $4.00 gallon of gas equals a 7.5% margin of profit?
Can someone figure me out on this one, please?

Originally Posted by shilala

I'm not all that good at math, but I can't see how 2 cents profit on a $4.00 gallon of gas equals a 7.5% margin of profit?
Can someone figure me out on this one, please?

147B in income, 10.7B in profit for Exxon.
$.02 profit at the pump, $.66.5 tax at the pump.
Two different things.

[NCRadioMan]

Sorry bro, but I am against profits for productive companies.

This is the key and is what the story should actually be about:

"For every gallon of gasoline and other products we refined and sold in the United States, we earned about 7 cents," said a statement from Exxon vice president Ken Cohen. "Compare that to the 40 to 60 cents per cents per gallon that went to the government (state and federal) in gasoline taxes."

Remember, the gubment does nothing to find, drill, refine and distribute.

[shilala]

$4.05 here, $4.15 the next town over.
I know the high prices suck, but when she hits $4.00/gallon, it makes alternative products competitive. How cool would it be if we got used to $4.00 a gallon and it completely ended our dependance on foreign fuel sources?
The part that's the worst is that in a large %age of families, a $1.00-$2.00 increase in a gallon of gas is a large percentage of their income. It's literally the difference between being able to put socks on the kids or not.
They're saying it's supposed to surge to $5.00 pretty quickly. I know it's been said before, but this is a real early start to traveling season, so the artificial demand will be there to support the price.
I'm starting to smell like politics, so I'll shut up. Before I do, let me ask you to please keep in your thoughts and prayers the families who this will hurt the most, and please try to help any way you can, when you can, if you can.

[Bunker]

$3.91 here south of Boston

I picked the right two months to have to work from home. I am not looking forward to that 35 mile commute again.

Plus I currently don't have a car either but that is another story.

[Steve]

Yup...and I gotta fill up the 10,000lb beast tonight on the way home...argh!

[TBone]

Just filled up my bike and it was $3.89 a gallon, I went from a $11 fillup to a $17 one.

[Zeuceone]

havent seen prices this week but will in a minute.

[newcigarz]

I need to get some storage on the 'Duc, so I can use it more.

[357]

$4.20 (includes state sales tax, state gas tax, plus federal gas tax).

Subtract 6% state sales tax, $4.20 = $3.96 or $0.24/gal in sales tax

Michigan has $0.19/gal state gas tax

Federal gas tax is $0.184/gal (unless it is 10% ethanol then you subtract $0.045 for a total of $0.139/gal)

Since I try not to use gasahol in my non-flex fuel car, of that $4.20/gal, roughly $0.614/gal is taxes.

So the government is making almost 62 cents per gallon while Exxon/Mobil makes 7% of 3.34 = $0.2338 or about 24 cents/gal.

Which one is the real problem?

[Eleven]

Originally Posted by 357

So the government is making almost 62 cents per gallon while Exxon/Mobil makes 7% of 3.34 = $0.2338 or about 24 cents/gal.

Which one is the real problem?

This.

Add to this that most of the Dumb Masses in America don't know the difference between a Profit and a Profit Margin, you get the hatred for the Oil Companies.

Thank God there are some of us that do know the difference and vote accordingly.

Now to educate the other 99.99999% of the population