[sammyg2]

10% net profit is not the norm for an oil company, that level would be considered unheard of prior to 2004.
Yes for the past 3 to 4 quarters some of the major oil companies have either approached or slightly exceeded the 10% mark (XOM = 10.5%) but that will be very short lived. You will very soon see them get back to 4 and 5%, maybe as low as 1 or 2 % which was normal for many, many years.

The independent oil companies typically see a profit margin of less than the majors because they don't actually pump oil out of the ground.

To put that in perspective, during a record profit run, when prices and profits were at the highest level ever seen in that industry (10%) the government was taking MORE THAN twice as much in taxes as the oil companies were making.
As prices go up, so do the sales tax, and we are paying sales on tax on excise tax. I love that, getting taxed on tax.

Where's that shipload of british tea again?

Disclaimer: I am currently employed by one of the corporations mentioned in the original post in this thread.