Word: petroleum
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...crude sends quakes through the world economy, consumers and politicians have hurled angry accusations that Big Oil is using the crisis to maximize profits. Those suspicions only grew stronger last week, when several leading oil companies reported that their earnings rose sharply in the July-September quarter. At Phillips Petroleum, profits more than doubled, to $178 million. Unocal's earnings were up 53%, to $121 million. The Justice Department and the Senate are investigating oil pricing. And some legislators, notably Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat, are calling for a new windfall- profits tax. Said he: "The escalating price...
Energy consumers complain, however, that Big Oil has been less moderate in boosting prices of other products. Heating fuel has risen about 45%, to 88 cents per gal. The biggest run-up has occurred in jet fuel, which has zoomed 100%, to $1.40 per gal. "Petroleum producers are reluctant to stick it to the little guy, so I think they are attempting to shift more of the expense to a place where the average consumer won't see it immediately," contends David Messing, a spokesman for Continental Airlines...
...industry, not all companies have profited handsomely from the rise in crude prices. The big winners are mostly firms that own large petroleum reserves as well as those that sell large amounts of gasoline or oil products to others at wholesale. Arco, for example, which controls a large stake in Alaska's North Slope, enjoyed third-quarter earnings of $462 million, up 22% from last year. Some companies were losers because they lack major reserves but operate large retail networks of gas stations. Mobil, which buys an unusually high proportion (60%) of its crude oil from other companies, suffered...
Enter the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), an emergency supply of oil intended to enable the U.S. to survive and wage war during an interruption of the oil supply. This little kitty contains 590 million barrels of crude oil stored in 65 salt caverns in Louisiana and Texas...
...company Silverado, evoking the dreams of prospectors in the days of the Wild West. Silverado was only the 26th largest S&L in the state, with total assets of $56 million and five offices, but it was ready to go places. Propelled by the oil shock of 1979, petroleum prices were rocketing upward and providing fuel for a ferocious building boom...