One great thing about America is freedom of choice, so those who choose not to buy gas from Exxon or Mobil, that's OK. I do want to pass on some facts though.
The world consumes much more energy, ie
oil, than it did when gas prices were 30 cents/gallon. There is not a shortage, but there is a match of supply and demand which keeps the price up. The "cheap"
oil is gone. America used to produce over 12 million barrels/day, and now produces less than 6. If the business were so great here, and it was so abundant, why do we have to import so much?? Two reasons, it is extremely costly to find and produce. Companies are now drilling and producing
oil and gas from water depths of over a mile down....figure out the engineering on that!!! It is super expensive. Add all the govt regs and environmental protection costs and you get oil that costs between $30 and $35/barrel. ie it COSTS almost $1/gallon for unrefined crude oil. Add transportation, and refining costs, and more transportation costs and you add more. Then add the govt take of 60 cents to 80 cents/barrel, and (you do the math), its a miracle that oil companies make any money!!
ExxonMobil has a return on Capital Employed of about 10%!! Look at most company annual reports and you will see that oil companies invest a lot to make a little in comparison to banks, newspapers, the networks that accuse the oils of gouging the public, etc.
Yes, I work for an oil company...ExxonMobil..as an employee, and I ain't rich!! I pay the same for you as gasoline, and I am glad we have it so "cheap" compared to the rest of the world!!
If I am sounding defensive, it is because I am just tired of people that pay $4+/gal for bottled water, $4+/gal for sodas, $8/gal for beer expect that gasoline should be cheap...ie 30 cents/gallon. In the 70s bread cost 25 cents a loaf, and it costs almost $2 now....and last I checked there was a huge surplus of wheat....not so for oil. Most of the folks complaining about gas prices dont want oil drilling or refining in "their neighborhood" either, but think its their "right" to have cheap gas. Mind boggling!!!
You, like me, have a Cobra. Enjoy it. The gasoline you put in the car for a day on the road is cheaper than a ticket to Disneyworld or Six Flags, and a lot more fun!!