AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe's largest oil company, reported Thursday that fourth-quarter profit rose 60 percent due to asset sales and higher oil prices.The damned Dutch? How is it they own the largest oil company in Europe? How could a little two-bit country like the Netherland's end up controlling a major chunk of the worlds oil, and taking all the profit from it?
Net income was $8.47 billion, up from $5.28 billion in the October-December period a year earlier. Sales rose to $107 billion from $75.5 billion despite a fall in oil production.
Full-year net profit was a record $31.3 billion, up 23 percent from $24.4 billion while sales rose 12 percent to $356 billion.
Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer described the results as "satisfactory," noting that the company had weak refining margins in the fourth quarter but "launched new (production) projects ... and achieved exploration successes."
That smiling little weasel is Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer during a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008. He's "satisfied" with the results of a $31,000,000,000.00 profit this year. Thrity one billion dollars PROFIT. And You - you big giant sucker - you're paying three bucks a gallon for gas.
Damn man, something really stinks here. Maybe we should lob a few cruise missiles at the Hague instead of the Arabs. Seems to me it's the Dutch who are really putting the hurt on us, not those pitiful little groups of Arab "terrorists" hiding away in a few remote caves in Pakistan.
And I'm not kidding, either.
2 comments:
Supply...meet demand.
It isn't your oil, or gasoline until you buy it. If you don't want it, don't buy it. If you aren't willing to pay what your neighbors in the global community are, then they will get it and you will not. Oil companies are not charities. Neither is any other business.
ROFL....
Supply... meet demand.
What a joke.
So who hasn't built a new American refinery in over three decades? Who hasn't kept the supply up to meet the demand? Who is keeping the supply down to inflate prices? And who is making billions because of this?
Big oil, of course.
There is plenty of crude oil available around the world today, but the suppliers - all of them in concert - limit production to keep up prices.
Watch how the Saudis and others constantly control the output of their wells to keep the supply in desired quantities. As an example, here in Texas there are thousands of productive oil wells not allowed to pump anywheres near capacity. Many are not allowed to pump at all. Maybe you have a good reason for that?
The refiners limit production to keep up prices. The easist way to do that is just not build any new prodiction facilities. The mantra "we are running at full capacity" seems to satisfy the many who want to believe that supplies are truly limited. In a less greedy enviornment, they would simply increase refinery capacity.
Our "neighbors" in the global community are being gouged the same way we are... intentionally limited production, intentinally limited supply, resulting in high prices and huge profits for big oil.
Put on yut thinking cap if you have one.
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