Quote from dtrader98:
Although I'm no expert on CRACK (I guess you need to be to understand the crude oil/gas relationship arguments vs. reality), one study I have done was to look at XOM profits and their relationship to gas prices. One thing is for certain-- regardless of any kind of hidden costs one can come up with, as the price of gas skyrocketed to its peak (practically doubling), so too did XOM profits.
If all these margins I hear about are razor thin, then why did the profit of XOM track gas prices (on their meteor ride up) so nicely?
Because they derive more money from the gloabl crude reserves they own, and the petrochemical refining than they do gasoline. gasoline is a drop in the bucket for their profit portfolio. The price of their reserves followed the price of the futures and thus the value of the company ran along with it.
