Shell profits nearly triple as oil prices surge

This video explaining why prices are so high might be valuable to this discussion: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=AQbmpecxS2w" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=AQbmpecxS2w</a>

I’m a little surprised at the vitriol towards market forces here. What would happen if we fixed prices? Make things even worse longer term as no incentive exists to reduce consumption and increase production. The shale boom has made oil companies reluctant to increase production only to see them get screwed down with low prices later.<p>Even more ironic when tech companies have far more market power and fully exploit it, both to the benefit of shareholders and their employees. (Not arguing against that either, those stratospheric returns drive new companies to try and improve to take their place)

Can anybody suggest why normal competition isn&#x27;t working here? One would expect providers of an identical product to push their prices down to the minimum profitable level to compete with others doing the same.<p>From a consumer point of view, why is Texaco (for example) not charging significantly less for its fuel (while still retaining a healthy margin) and capturing all the market, triggering similar in other providers and a general downward price pressure?<p>Is it in fact a demand vs supply thing, and even if they had a bigger market they couldn&#x27;t supply it due to limitations on production and refinery capacity?

Gee, what a surprise. Last time I checked, the oil producing regions of Canada aren’t providing their product to Canada at a discount to help reduce gas prices here. That would reduce their profits, violate fiduciary duty, blah blah blah.

Tax payers are paying for this war in the form of higher energy bills. The oil cartel and major shareholders (Vanguard, BlackRock, Chase etc) are getting the rewards.

Biden has clearly taken a hit for these high energy prices. Here&#x27;s my sincere hope: that people start to realize this is nothing more than unjustifiable, opportunistic greed by oil companies that would be no different in any other administration.<p>Just like with foreign policy, there&#x27;s absolutely zero difference between the US political parties here. None.<p>The conversation we should have as a consequence of this is why are we giving away natural resources to allow private companies to make massive profits paying the government just a token for the privilege?<p>The US (and every other country) should have a model like Norway where they get the lion&#x27;s share of the profits from resource extraction.<p>As an example of how far we are from this, look no further than the case of Steven Donziger. He is an American lawyer who helped Ecuador obtain a $9.5 billion judgement against Chevron for the massive pollution Chevron caused in Ecuador. As a result of this, Chevron found a friendly US judge to appoint a <i>private oil law firm</i> to <i>criminally prosecute</i> Donziger for fraud (in the US). He has been disabarred in New York for his &quot;extravagant&quot; pursuit of Chevron and charged with criminal contempt. Donziger had a bail set of $800,000 for a <i>misdemeanour</i> contempt charge and spent <i>over two years in home detention</i>.<p>I bring this up as a stark example of just how beholden the US government is to corporate interests.

This is a pretty bizarre comment section. Oil companies have a fixed extraction cost and the market sets the price of the commodity they produce. Should Google arbitrarily force the price of ads lower when the instant bid happens for ad placement?<p>I saw no tears shed for the oil industry when prices completely collapsed in 2015 causing the bankruptcy of thousands of companies over the following six years.

Sometimes I wonder what an alternative timeline would look like had Tesla not existed. Would the auto-makers have made a move by now to EV?

Absolutely absurd that consumers are expected to stomach huge COL increases so that these companies can triple their profits.

Wind fall taxes are the remedy to price gouging, excessive profits, runaway exec compensation, etc.<p>Let the belligerents have their fun in the &quot;free market&quot;. Publicly recognize all the &quot;winners&quot; with Presidential Medals of Awesomeness, karma, and ambassadorships. (Bravo, well done. Now please go away.)<p>Then claw it all back with repeated radical cashectomies.<p>&quot;The secret of great fortunes without apparent cause is a crime forgotten, for it was properly done.&quot; -- Honoré de Balzac