1-26-09 by dugan
The major oil companies will be reporting their 4th quarter 2008 and
annual profits this week, and here’s a safe prediction: They’ll lean on
the drop in their 4th quarter profits as the price of oil tumbled,
glossing over the fact that most or all of them will reap another year
of record annual profits. Whatever you do, don’t shed tears for Exxon.
Conoco
Phillips, the first and smallest of the major oil companies releasing
profits (on Wednesday), could drop its 4th quarter profit by 80% from
last year’s 4.3 billion and still set a yearly record. It raked in 14.8
billion during the first three quarters of 2008, compared to its 2006
yearly record of $15.5 billion.
Exxon, after making $37.4 billion
in the first three quarters of 2008, is only $3.2 billion shy of its
2007 record profit of $40.6 billion. In fact, its income for the first
three quarters would have been a record for any full year before 2006.
Exxon’s profit for all of 2002 was $11.5 billion, less than its profit
for either the third or fourth quarter of 2008.
So the CEOS will
all line up and call the 4th quarter of 2008 terrible. A look backward
tells us today’s bad is just yesterday’s normal, back before crude oil
markets and refining profits went crazy and lined Exxon’s pockets with
$80 fill-ups at the pump.
To make your own comparisons, see the profit history of each oil company at Oil Watchdog’s "Oil Profit Monster" database.