How do oil execs make these profits?

Question

How can these oil companies made these windfall profits? We are told how much oil is per barrel daily and told nobody has control over gas prices. That it is determined by supply&demand. So my question is where do the profits come from?

Answer 1

by raising our gas prices.

Answer 2

Many products that we use contain petroleum plus we are fighting a war. I am sure millions of gallons of oil are use a day just fighting the war.

Answer 3

Squeaky answered the question exactly right, probably not what you were looking for.

Everyone as a group has control over prices.  When the world uses less and less of a product that is in increasing or steady supply, the price goes down.  When the world uses more of a product that is in a declining state of supply, the price goes up.  The question in this case is who is willing to pay more for the product.  If I had the last Twinkie on Earth, and there were millions of people craving my  Twinkie, I guarantee you irrationality would set in and I would make a large amount of money.  That is for something trivial we could do without.  Energy is used by everyone, in each of its forms it runs our economy.  As the supply goes down or the amount of people seeking out the product goes up (same effect), the less willing the producers are to compete with other producers to lower the prices.  

Answer 4

The Night that he never came home was the night that the wold was lost in the ocean of its own lies seemingly harmless depletion of what makes the world unique will be lost forever to the man who grew wealthy and never came home...

Answer 5

Profits equals revenue minus costs.

Answer 6

Steven king just puts pen to paper and makes more than the oil execs should we tax for ink?

Answer 7

Because the oil industry is one massive international cartel and national governments have long since ceased to frame energy policies in favor of the public, but have abdicated their responsibilities to corporate greed by embracing the ideologies of 'free trade' and globalisation. These policies suck wealth out of the mass of consumers and redistribute it to the corporate elite.  Cartels have the power to manage supply and determine prices, and hence profits.