Big week for big oil
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: There are some people who like it when gas prices are high. They run oil companies, or maybe they invest in oil companies. Either way, the money is pouring in. This week, we’ll find out just how much. We’ll get earnings reports from the likes ExxonMobil, Shell and BP. More now from Lisa Napoli.
LISA NAPOLI: You don’t need a crystal ball to see what’s in store for big oil. John Felmy’s with the American Petroleum Institute:
JOHN FELMY: “Well, judging by the changes in oil prices natural gas prices and refining margins, it looks like they’ll come in line with performance you’ve seen in previous quarters.”
Meaning massive. Whopping. Maybe even record-setting.
Exxon Mobil, for one, took in profits of $8.5 billion last quarter and is on pace to net $36 billion this year alone.
Severin Borenstein heads up the University of California Energy Institute. He says, corporate profits aren’t what worries him.
SEVERIN BORENSTEIN:“I’d be much more concerned about places like Iran. Iran is pulling an extra $40 billion a year.”
He says, the next time you grit your teeth at the pump, consider that it may be you who’s getting rich, too.
BORENSTEIN:“That money goes mostly to shareholders, and most of those shareholders are us.”
Whether you hold the stock outright, or have a pension plan or index fund that invests in big oil.
I’m Lisa Napoli for Marketplace.
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