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Obscene oil profits get typical response from Congress Saturday, Oct 29, 2005 By Wesley Brown Where is the outrage? ExxonMobil, Shell and BP, the world's three largest publicly traded oil companies, together pulled in quarterly profits this week of more than $19 billion. Believe this: The oil companies have us just where they want us now - bent over a barrel of oil. Consider the fact that reporters are writing stories about "cheap gasoline" at $2.50 a gallon, the U.S. House speaker is begging Big Oil for relief, and Congress is poised to give oil companies new tax breaks to build more refineries and drill offshore. In the midst of this surreal scenario, ExxonMobil on Thursday reported that its third quarter earnings had jumped 75 percent to a staggering $9.92 billion, an industry record. Revenues in the quarter were $100.7 billion, up from $76.4 billion a year ago, making the Irving, Texas-based oil giant the first company in U.S. history to report quarterly earnings over $100 million. Overall, the world's five biggest publicly traded oil companies - ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron and France's Total SA - are expected to combine for 2005 profit of $106.7 billion, according to Thomson Financial. That would mark a 26 percent spike from last year. ExxonMobil, fearing a backlash from angry U.S. consumers, is trying to downplay the fact it is minting more cash than most industrialized nations. "We acted responsibly in pricing at our company-operated service stations, and we also encouraged our independent retailers and distributors to do the same," company Chairman Lee Raymond said Thursday. But don't put all the blame on oil companies. Congress is preparing to reward these oil barons with more cash for taking Americans to the cleaners. Just last week, the House passed legislation that would allow oil companies and refiners to forego environmental requirements for expanding or building refineries and direct the president to designate federal lands where refineries might be built. The oil lobby won over most lawmakers by arguing that gas prices are so high because there has not been a new refinery built in the U.S. for 30 years, mainly because of NIMBY protests and EPA regulations that make such projects too expensive. Of course, the abhorrent Gas Price Act had to be written by the oil lobby's own bought-and-paid-for lawmaker, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Like any politician facing an angry mob, House Speaker Dennis Hastert explains his support of Barton's bill with nonsensical statements. "The price of oil and natural gas will continue to be hard on our nation's economy, consumers and families," Hastert said Oct. 10. "This year's winter promises large increases in the cost of home heating and natural gas. And high gasoline prices are likely well into the future." Speaker of the Obvious Hastert also promises that unacceptable behavior by oil companies such as price-gouging and collusion will be prosecuted, knowing good and well that such statements are only window dressing and cover for lawmakers. The bill now awaits approval by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where the only hope for its defeat lies with a can't-see-straight body that has been hijacked by a judicial selection process gone awry. On Thursday, Senate Leader Bill Frist called for an inquiry to let oil executives tell us why energy prices are so high. Ethically challenged Frist's big headline grab came on the same day that ExxonMobil and Shell announced their record earnings. Most likely, an inquiry will be held, lawmakers will express their anger at high oil prices and slam their fist vehemently before TV cameras, and business as usual will go on behind the scenes. Hastert, Frist and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will continue to take truckloads of money from the oil lobby, and we will be left with the fact there is no effective law on the books that criminalizes collusion, price gouging or the making obscene profits. We all know that oil companies can build 20 brand-new refineries in the U.S. in the next five years and even buy a few a small countries to locate them on, if they really wanted to. But politicians of all stripes will never be able to wean themselves off the oil lobby's cash trough, meaning we had better get used high oil prices or a lite energy diet. "Here at the Capitol, we're switching off all unnecessary lights, unplugging equipment that drains energy when not in use and turning off computers and monitors when they are not being used," Hastert said Tuesday. And while the speaker is worried about turning off lights, oil companies are setting Rome afire. ------ Wesley Brown is business editor for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is wbrown@arkansasnews.com. |
