So tell me again, how many barrels per day?

Seemed to work for Henry Ford.

Actually at low prices they lose money. Exxon made $23 billion in 2021 after losing $22 billion in 2020.

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Much less controversial, though. You never see a ā€œoil companies post record lossesā€ article when gas is $2/gallon.

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Yep, nobody complains then.

Pretty bad example. Ford cut costs by selling a cheap entry level car and streamlining the manufacturing process. He didn’t sell them for cheap out of the kindness of his heart.

I guess that you missed my point.
Of course we are all asking for more supply, a.s.a.p.
Of course increased supply will help to lower prices.
Of course I don’t expect them to invest money in a losing proposition.
Do I really have to play Captain Obvious by pointing out… the obvious?

Increased supply will be good for everyone–including those like me who hold fairly large blocks of Exxon-Mobil stock. :wink:

I guess you haven’t seen some of the more outrageous internet postings that I have seen.

Obviously, I did, Captain. :grin:

I thought we was all a’ complainin’ bout dem big oil mans bein all greedy like.

Me… complain about Big Oil?
I love being partially supported by my holdings in Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, and Marathon.
:wink:

Nobody likes high gas prices, but those stock dividends are delectable, and they definitely offset the money that I spend for gas.

Sold off some xom, probably a bad time last year, but the loss helped avoid capitol gains. So hard to predict the future!

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I never buy individual stocks. I just do mutual funds and let other people make the bets. I learned my lesson years ago with Healthedutech and a couple others highly recommended. I did think that Shelldahl was a good deal at about 10 cents a share but I didn’t have any money then anyway. I knew one guy that only had P&G and nothing more. I suggested he should at least diversify a little but he wouldn’t have it. Everybody makes their own bed.

I do both. I hold Vanguard Energy in addition to my oil stock holdings, and even though there is some duplication, it has worked-out nicely for me.

Something that I think is significant in the long term is that Vanguard Energy began to diversify a few years ago, and is now invested in solar and wind-based energy sources, in addition to their traditional holdings in petroleum-based companies.
:thinking:

True enough. But the complaint I’ve heard about the common sense econ 101 explanation is that the true cost of fuel should also include the environmental damage using it causes. If a person could buy a tank of gas, drive until empty, and that only affects their own pocket book, that’s one thing. But if using that tank of gas has an adverse effect on others, should the other’s be compensated?

I just filled up. Did that have an adverse effect on you? Now what is having an adverse effect on me is California not allowing older trucks to pick up shipping containers at the dock. And the failure of the crane operators to not play favorites and slow the unloading. Then not even to mention the effect that the animal confinement requirements may have nation-wide on the supply and cost of meat. That’s a lot of effect that one state in imposing on the other 300 million people in fly over country.

Something that had an adverse effect on a LOT of US residents had to do with a wrong-headed (and suddenly discontinued) Executive Order issued by the esteemed Governor of Texas:

Higher food prices… just what everyone needs.
NOT!

I guess everything has some adverse affect on somebody. Suggest to focus on whether Bing’s recent fill up had any adverse effect on anybody else, other than Bing’s wallet? What do you folks here think?

Here’s a Puzzler: What is the probability at least one atom in your next inhalation was also in Julius Ceasar’s final exhalation?

Nope. I mean you release carbon just by living. And even dying! You know my thoughts on the climate change theory. But my thoughts aside, oil companies wouldn’t sell oil if we weren’t buying. So they don’t deserve a carbon tax or whatever any more than automakers, trucking companies, companies that ship by truck, or even the general population that’s filling up their tanks deserves an extra tax for using it. For the time being, we as a society need petroleum. I think that’s more evident now than it may have been a short time ago. I don’t see a reason to punish the companies that provide it. Should they pay more in taxes when profits are higher? Sure. But I imagine they probably already do. At least that’s how it should be structured.

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That’s a thoughtful analysis there SJ. Thanks for posting. It’s conundrum, that’s for sure.

I read a recent report of the income taxes paid by the top 400 billionaires. It was surprising. Sure some paid 3% but most were in the 18 to 30%. There is just so much crap narrative floating around you can’t believe any of it. Then in another lecture the earth is somewhere in 20,000 year cycles and we go back to 1940 and think the world is ending.

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