Peak Profit

Here are some numbers. In October of 2003, a gallon of heating oil in the Boston area would run you around $1.34. When I filled up my tank a couple weeks ago, I paid $2.65 a gallon. That's not the 36% increase that's being bandied around in the news these days. That's about 100%. Someone is making a s$%tload of money off of our middle class asses.

In the words of Dana Carvey's Church Lady, "Well, well, well... I wonder who it could be... I really couldn't imagine... hmmm... Could it be... BIG OIL?!!"

Why, yes!

Here are the numbers from the Times:

Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, said yesterday that its third-quarter net income jumped 75 percent, to $9.92 billion. Its profit in the first nine months of this year - $25.42 billion - already equals its full-year earnings for 2004. This year's sales, which topped $100 billion in the last quarter, are expected to exceed those of Wal-Mart.

Another oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, reported a 68 percent jump in profits yesterday, to $9.03 billion. Chevron is expected to post a profit of more than $4 billion today.

So, while people may question whether or not the world has reached a peak in oil production, there's certainly no question that a new peak in profits has been reached for the big oil companies.