Top 5 Oil Companies, $1 Trillion Profit, 2001 - 2011

I'm recommending this article by Daniel J. Weiss, Jackie Weidman, Rebecca Leber, published Feb. 8, 2012. Original title: Big Oil’s Banner Year: Higher Prices, Record Profits, Less Oil. In short, things are better than ever for Oil & Gas. Here's a look at the world's Top 5 (who also happen to be 5 of the world's wealthiest companies):

Profits 2010 / 2011:
--> ExxonMobil (Texas) $31B / $41B
--> Shell (Netherlands) $20B / $31B
--> Chevron (California) $19B / $27B
--> BP (United Kingdom) $(4)B / $26B
--> ConocoPhilips (Texas) $11B / $12B

Oil Production 2010 / 2011 in million barrels per day
--> ExxonMobil (Texas) 4.4 / 4.5
--> Shell (Netherlands) 3.3 / 3.2
--> Chevron (California) 2.8 / 2.7
--> BP (United Kingdom) 3.8 / 3.5
--> ConocoPhilips (Texas) 1.9 / 1.7

Click to enlarge.

One highlight from the article is this chart -- a nice compliment to my blog comparing Oil & Gas Company profits (per capita) to the rest of the world's wealthiest private companies. It also lends credence to Obama's recent declaration that it's time to end oil subsidies and makes the fact that US Oil & Gas companies received nearly 4x more incentive dollars 1950-2010 than any other US energy sector (including: natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, renewables, and geothermal) even less flattering. 


The Weiss/Weidman/Leber article is definitive. Today's "Big Oil" is producing less, raising prices, earning record profits, reinvesting in its own company stock, and earning a 30:1 return on its D.C. tax break lobbying. Another slide: 

A couple of eye-popping quotes: 

• ExxonMobil, the most profitable of the big five, paid an effective tax rate of 17.6 percent (from 2008–2010 data), which is 3 percent less than what the average American family paid. But Exxon and other oil companies that receive these tax breaks do not pass benefits on to consumers.
• Despite generating $546 billion in profits between 2005 and 2010, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP combined to reduce their U.S. workforce by 11,200 employees over that time.

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How does the Oil & Gas Industry compare to the rest of the world, in terms of pure wealth? See the numbers.