The Prime Minister,

The Hon John Howard MP,

Parliament House,

CANBERRA.   ACT.   2600.                                                 September 23, 2005.

 

John Mate,

 

A quiet word.

 

We’re getting very worried about this petrol thing Mate.

 

It seems like these rogue oil companies have got you on the run Mate.

 

Not a good look at all.

 

On the one hand, your government can declare pre-emptive war, invade foreign nations, fight international terrorism, deport Australian citizens, trash human rights, abolish the rule of law & even ridicule the American Department of Homeland Security – all with apparent impunity whilst, on the other, it doesn't seem interested in or capable of taking-on the outrageous behaviour of a few oil speculators.

 

How do you think it looks Mate when your Minister for Revenue, the redoubtable Mal Brough, tells the world that your government has no control over fuel prices? Bloody ridiculous Mate, particularly coming in the same week as your World Statesman Award.

 

But it really looked like the panic had set-in when you appeared on the 7:30 Report tonight - a very sad display Mate.

 

There you were flapping your arms about trying to justify your government’s failure to reign-in oil company profiteering, by claiming that George Bush, Junichiro Koizumi, Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schroder & Tony Blair couldn’t fix the problem.

 

Trouble is Mate, many of those governments have already acted to address the issue, whilst you & Mal just sit around wringing your hands. Not a good look at all Mate.

 

The French government has already announced a package of measures designed to ease the situation for farmers & will announce similar measures for freight carriers on Monday.

 

French President Jacques Chirac urged ministers on Tuesday to put pressure on petrol retailers to cut pump prices further.

 

BP and Total announced price cuts last week but consumer & motoring groups said they have not gone far enough.

 

In Austria, retailers have cut prices after the government threatened a one-off tax on their profits.

Vienna had threatened to impose a windfall tax on the profits of leading petrol companies although the firms concerned said their decision was unconnected to the proposed measure.  

 

And even Belgium, Poland & Hungary have announced measures to cushion the impact of rising prices on consumers by reducing excise & VAT duties.

 

Meanwhile, in the US, the Californian government has launched an investigation into market manipulation by the oil cartel, whilst calls have been made for a Congressional investigation into their profiteering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

 

Even Tony Blair’s government is considering a reduction in excise duties.

 

Meanwhile, our own ACCC has already fingered the oil companies, highlighting the fact that their refining margins have jumped by 143% in the last few weeks, from US$7.00 to US$17.00 a barrel.

 

And it is so hard to disguise the size of this scam Mate.

 

Last year ExxonMobil made a profit of US$25 billion & this year it is on track to bank US$30 billion.

 

But it’s not just the oil companies Mate.

 

As you know, excise revenues have risen by A$4.5 billion ( 45% ) in just 3 years to A$14.5 billion, whilst the GST take has risen by almost A$2.0 billion ( 83% ) in the same period.

 

All up, your government has pocketed an extra A$8.5 billion in excise taxes over the past 3 years on the back of steadily increasing fuel consumption. No wonder Uncle Pete is embarrassed by the government’s Budget surplus!!!

 

Anyway, people are starting to talk Mate.

 

Some people are saying you have lost touch with the Mums & Dads on this issue Mate. In the words of Pete the truckie today, the feeling is that you are just paying lip service to this issue.

 

And some people are starting to wonder just who is running this country?

 

Time to act Mate.

 

Best Regards,

 

John.

The Great Energy Price Heist Of 2005

‘Shell Oil Co. President John Hofmeister said consumer preferences for higher-mileage vehicles could slow oil and gasoline demand in coming years and lessen the urgency to build significant numbers of new refineries in the United States, according to Kevin G. Hall of Knight Ridder News Services:  

 

"Hofmeister told Knight Ridder Newspapers that efforts by President Bush and Congress to provide incentives to build new refineries are welcome, but a key assumption - that the demand for gasoline will continue to increase - could be flawed. Hofmeister said the growing consumer demand for cars and trucks that get better gas mileage could change the outlook for future gasoline use."  

 

Is he looking a gift horse in the mouth, and/or telling Bush that the Republican energy plan is flawed?  

 

The real lesson here might be that Shell oil does not believe that there is any way gas prices are coming down over the medium term, if ever.’ 

 

Shell Oil President Says: No New Refineries Needed!

 

‘Record-breaking fuel costs across the country are forcing millions of Americans to wonder how they will have enough money to heat their homes this winter or fill up their gas tanks to get to work in the morning. The Bush Administration is quick to claim that they are working to lower skyrocketing fuel prices but staggering profits by Big Oil have long made it clear that these price increases are the direct result of oil company greed, market manipulation, and an Administration content to let Big Oil pillage consumers at the pump.  

 

The recent announcement that Exxon Mobil has earned the largest quarterly profit in the history of our nation makes it clear just how this bad oil company price gouging has become. Reports show that Exxon Mobil brought in a 3rd quarter profit of nearly $10 billion. This is the largest corporate quarterly profit ever, and more than $4 billion dollars more than the company brought in during the 3rd quarter of last year. 

 

To put this in perspective, this means that Exxon Mobil hauled in more profits in three months than corporate behemoths Coca-Cola Co., Intel Corp. and Time Warner Inc. earn in an entire year.  

 

And Exxon Mobil is not alone. ConocoPhillips Co. 3rd quarter profits increased by 89% from last year's level. Royal Dutch Shell's profits increased by 68%; and Marathon Oil's profits more than tripled. In fact, all of the major oil companies experienced record-breaking profits, bringing in an estimated $28 billion more in profits this year as compared to 2004.  

 

These staggering profit margins come at a time when consumers are faced with overwhelming price increases for gas and home heating oil. The average price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump is more than $1 higher than it was just two years ago. The price increases for home heating fuel is equally daunting. The Department of Energy is currently predicting that prices for winter fuel oil, propane and natural gas will be 218% higher this year than they were in 2001.’  

 

Stop Oil Company Price Gouging

 

 

 

 

 

‘Washington - Top executives of three major oil companies will be asked by senators next week why some of their industry's estimated $96 billion in record profits this year shouldn't be used to help people having trouble paying their energy bills.  

 

Lee Raymond, chairman of Exxon Mobil Corp., Jim Mulva, chief executive of ConocoPhillips, and John Hofmeister, president of the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, will be among the industry executives to be questioned at a Senate hearing, according to congressional and industry officials. 

 

Earlier in the day, Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn., renewed their call for passage of a windfall profits tax on oil companies. They hoped to put such a proposal - a 50 percent tax on the sale of oil over $40 a barrel - into a tax bill later this month, they said. The revenue would be given to consumers in form of an income tax rebate. 

 

These huge profits "come as a windfall, falling into the laps of the big oil companies with little or no additional effort or expense," argued Dorgan.’ 

 

Oil Execs to Be Asked to Justify Profits

‘In a sign of the political impact of soaring energy prices, the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee voted on Tuesday to impose a $5 billion tax next year on the nation's biggest oil companies.  

  

The measure amounts to a one-year windfall profits tax, a concept that most Republicans had until recently denounced as a discredited idea from the 1970s. It was added to a larger bill that would cut taxes by about $61 billion over the next five years.  

 

Conservative Senate Republicans who support the oil industry bitterly protested the measure, noting that Congress had just approved billions in new tax breaks to encourage oil and gas exploration. But every Republican on the panel voted for the overall package, which passed the committee by 14-8 and which the full Senate is expected to take up today.’ 

 

Big Oil May Face a $5 Billion Levy

‘Venezuela has given the world's biggest oil company, ExxonMobil, until the end of this year to enter a joint venture with the state.  

 

Failure to do so will almost certainly result in Exxon losing its oil field concessions in the country.  

 

Venezuela's socialist government has now signed new agreements with almost all foreign petroleum companies.’  

 

Venezuela Gives Exxon Ultimatum  

 

Meanwhile, in Canada …..  

 

‘An antitrust lawsuit filed Monday against Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP PLC claims the two oil giants are restricting the nation's supply of natural gas and keeping prices at record highs.  

 

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Fairbanks, says the two companies acted together to eliminate competition for the exploration, development and marketing of natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to US markets. 

 

"The only reason for them to collusively not to sell is to try to continue the scarcity that has driven natural gas prices to historic highs," said David Boies, the attorney for the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, which filed the lawsuit.’ 

 

Alaska Files Suit Against BP, Exxon Mobil 

 

Meanwhile, at the ACCC ….. ????? 

 

Meanwhile, in Canberra ….. ?????

‘The oil giant BP sparked fury among campaign groups yesterday after announcing record annual profits of £11.07 billion, only days after rival Shell smashed British business records.  

 

BP, which made the equivalent of £21,000 a minute, faced renewed accusations that it was cashing in on the high price of oil at the expense of road users and the environment.  

 

Although its 2005 profits fell short of the £25,000 a minute set by Shell, the surging price of crude oil meant they were still more than 25 per cent higher than 2004. The company announced it would give billions of pounds back to its shareholders if the oil price remained high. If it stays at $41 a barrel between 2006 and 2008, BP would be able to distribute £29 billion in dividends and share buybacks. If the price was $60 a barrel, shareholders would get about £37 billion.’ 

 

Anger As BP Racks Up £11bn Profits

 

 

 

‘Across the frozen North Slope of Alaska, the region's
largest oil accident on record has been sending hundreds of thousands of litres
of crude pouring into the Arctic Ocean during the past week after a badly corroded
BPO pipeline ruptured.  

The publicity caused by the leak
in the 30-year-old pipeline could seriously damage BP's image, which has been
carefully crafted to show it as a company concerned about the environment.
Unlike other major oil companies, BP boasts that it is fully signed up to the
dangers of global warming and it makes a conspicuous effort to flaunt its green
credentials, tackling local environmental problems and erecting wind turbines
above its petrol stations.’ 

Oil Gushes
Into Arctic Ocean From BP Pipeline

From the NYT

G.O.P. Senators Hurry to Quell Furor Over Gas

By CARL HULSE
Published: April 28, 2006
WASHINGTON, April 27 — Senate Republicans tried on Thursday to get the upper hand in the escalating political battle over high gasoline prices by proposing a $100 rebate for taxpayers and by suggesting that they might increase taxes on oil-industry profits.

Second Thoughts in Congress on Oil Tax Breaks (April 27, 2006)
The Republican proposal also called for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil production, a provision sure to draw opposition from many Democrats and even some Republicans.

read more at the NYT

-------------------

By doing all this, the GOP people are showing that the petrol companies can get away with looting the barrels, from top to bottom... and get to dip in the sacrosanct areas of conservation! They could not pray for more: make astronomical profits, get the government to pay for fiddle tax breaks to the consumers that comes directly back in the general profit consolidation of the companies that get to dig for more stuff where the polar bears live... and the price won't tumble on the furture's market... Alleluia!!!

from the Seattle Times

Exxon posts 7 percent quarterly profit growth
By Steve Quinn
AP Business Writer
DALLAS — Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil company, reported today the fifth highest quarterly profit for any public company in history, posting gains from higher oil prices that were likely to stoke the furor over outsized oil company earnings.

Despite the 7 percent gain in earnings to more than $8 billion in the first quarter, Exxon Mobil said its earnings came in below its record fourth-quarter because all three of its businesses — exploration and production; refining; chemicals — didn't perform as well.

The earnings report comes amid consumer outcry in the U.S. about soaring gasoline prices. The average retail price of gasoline in the U.S. is now $2.91 a gallon, or 68 cents higher than a year ago...
read more at the Seattle Times