OMG Oil prices are down to $41 barrel...will Exxon be looking for a bail out next?

You'd better believe it.





But, if gas can be sold at a profit now -- how much money did they make last summer? They should bail out the Big Three who guzzle most of their gas.OMG Oil prices are down to $41 barrel...will Exxon be looking for a bail out next?
It's highly unlikely the oil companies, themselves, will need assistance. However, the concerns of OPEC are another story. Even after significantly cutting production, the price of oil on the global market is still nowhere near the ';target price'; of those nations' preferences (around $75 bbl). With %26gt;$40 bbl, that means certain oil-producing nations lose revenue, which means less money to spend on domestic programs.





Supply %26amp; demand does not fully explain the volatility in the market. Certainly, global demand has fallen in light of the economic downturn, but the dramatic drop in prices are not necessarily reflective of a relatively modest decline in demand. Interestingly, civil unrest in oil-producing regions seems to have little or no effect on recent global prices. In Nigeria, rebel groups continue to sabotage oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, construction of an oil pipeline in the Caucusus was delayed by the S. Ossetia crisis, and the continued saber-rattling against Iran have now been conveniently forgotten when factoring in the ';instability premium,'; which was just a smokescreen.





In actuality, investor speculation in the NY %26amp; London market has been the primary motivator for the drive up in prices; on the flip side, the speculator pullout from oil has also been the reason for the rapid decline in prices. (Interstingly, around the time of near-$150 oil, there was pending legislation in Congress that sought to crack down on rampant speculation in the market. Perhaps there may have been a coordinated effort by speculators, many of whom have ties to oil producers, to pull out to avoid unwanted attention and litigation.)





Only now are we seeing anything resembling the true market price for oil.OMG Oil prices are down to $41 barrel...will Exxon be looking for a bail out next?
Hot Pink, your question illustrates the fundamental problem that many have with capitalism. We expect and demand competent management. And shame on the auto companies for not doing that, but then we bail them out despite their incompetence. In oil, we want them to make money and sustain themselves............BUT NOT TOO MUCH MONEY because that is UNFAIR!





We can't have it both ways guys. Either we are going to allow a free market economy to run it's course...or we are not. Anything else is socialism.





I doubt they will. They probably managed their profits well when oil was must more expensive per barrel. Don't insult big oil by comparing them to the big three automakers.
No, but Saudi Arabia and Dubai and the rest of OPEC might since as the price of oil falls, they can't to continue to finance their elabortate social systems and those endless building projects.





Even when OPEC cuts back on production or threatens to do so, the price of oil keeps falling. I just hope and pray that we don't view this as permanent and start buying those behemouth SUVs again.
They've had record profits during the Bushwhack administration. They should be helping their buddies in the automobile manufacturing industry.





Come on.... it's really not so hard to understand how oil companies would be the winners when we have a couple of oil guys in Washington.





The bad thing is that they abandoned our constitution and made millions of Americans lose.
They will be making the same margins that they did with it was $147 per barrel, between 9 and 10 percent. The total profits will be lower than that last quarter, but it will still probably be between 9 and 10 billion dollars. I doubt if Exxon will need a bailout any time soon.
I just saw Swartzenegger of tv saying Cally-fornia would run out of money in 70 days. He said it was ironic that they had to stop working on infrastructure while Obama is planning on having the whole infrastructure of the country worked on....sounds to me like he wants a bail out for Callyfornia. So I think everyone wants a bail. I know I could use one.
they do not have to..





goverment is already subsidizing with the productiona and upgrades of current processing plants..
No they have made trillions along with the countries with the oil. Oil needs to fall to $20 a barrel for the next 50 years or so.
Refineries can make money at any price because they simply buy the oil and reprocess it selling it higher then they bought it for. Producers are the ones who will be poorer
Dunno, but I'm glad my broker sold everything oil-related when it was $120. Might be the only thing he did right this year.
No, they are still going to make profits. Maybe not as much as they were, but let's put it this way: they won't be starving.
they better not. remember they explained that those record profits were okay because they offset the bad times?
I hope it falls to $10 a barrel....absolutely. And if it does, I would still buy an electric car.
No, there is no way the government will be giving them any money.
Probably and they'll get it, it's time to light the candle of Revolution...
No.