By the Numbers
Exxon posted a 30% profit increase during the last quarter from the previous year... the annual 36 billion earning was the largest net profit in US history. Overall, the 12 US oil companies in the S&P saw close to a 50% increase over the fourth quarter.
We're not using twice as much oil as the year before... supply and demand is a part of the equation. but there's a correlation between what we're paying at the pumps and the increasing belt size of these fat cats.