You should all feel sorry for Caltex AU

[RonMcGr]

Oil surge sucks dollars from Caltex's bottom line | smh.com.au (http://business.smh.com.au/oil-surge-sucks-dollars-from-caltexs-bottom-line-20080627-2xqw.html)

Oil surge sucks dollars from Caltex's bottom line.. :(

The nation's only listed oil refiner and marketer, Caltex Australia, has slashed its interim profit forecast by as much as 40% as surging oil prices cut its refiner margins.

<snip>

"Strong diesel and jet (fuel) margins offset weaker margins for petrol,'' Caltex said.

Caltex's refining profitability was also affected by unplanned maintenance, which cut first half earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by between $70 million and $85 million.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Poor, poor basta*ds :mad:

[Basil135]

By my quick calculations, that puts their EBIT at around $160,000,000.:o

Poor buggers. Good thing there is all of us diesel drivers around to support them, with their petrol profits dropping...:eek:

[ak]

On the ABC news about a week ago an interesting comment was made that the OPEC countries mainly Suadi are worried that with the current price of oil it will speed up the level of development of more battery cell cars and the like over the next ten years. They want to make money out of oil for the next 50 years not speed up the process of it being obsolete in 10 to 20 years. They are of course blaming prices on future trades.

[BMKal]

One of the companies that we're doing some work for is looking at the feasibility of scaling down or miniaturizing one of the more successful models of nuclear reactors. When they get them small enough, I've put my hand up to trial one in the Disco - I know where to get plenty of enriched uranium to feed it with.

[inside]

This oil thing happened in the 70's and it is happening again now. I really hope we do not forget like we did in the 70's and keep down the path of wasting oil if/when the price of oil falls.

[scotsmun]

Gee i never thought selling my Range Sport Supercharged and Maloo in the last month would have such a big effect.........:wasntme: I had a sneaky feeling i was propping up their buisiness:D

[LoveMyV8County]

When Iraq (oops the 51st US state?) finally gets production going properly, that should make a huge difference to global supply/demand equation.

Latest estimates are that its proven reserves exceed Saudi Arabia's to be the largest in the world.

[Debacle]

When Iraq (oops the 51st US state?) finally gets production going properly, that should make a huge difference to global supply/demand equation.

Latest estimates are that its proven reserves exceed Saudi Arabia's to be the largest in the world.

Wouldnt Zimbabwe love to have some of those oil reserves

[dullbird]

When Iraq (oops the 51st US state?) finally gets production going properly, that should make a huge difference to global supply/demand equation.

Latest estimates are that its proven reserves exceed Saudi Arabia's to be the largest in the world.

unless of course the u.s go and burn twice the amount of oil again invading another country to secure the oil for the future.....opps i ment free the people:wasntme:

[loanrangie]

Wouldnt Zimbabwe love to have some of those oil reserves

They would be happy to have any reserves, they got squat !

[Debacle]

They would be happy to have any reserves, they got squat !

Exactly, maybe thats why the US doesnt want to intervene

[V8Ian]

Go easy on Caltex, they pay my bills:)

[JDNSW]

What needs to be remembered is that Caltex is an oil importer, refiner, and distributor/retailer. Originally a partnership between the Californian Oil Company and Texaco it is now (and has been for years) an Australian listed company.

A lot people seem to think that the oil industry is made up of a few major companies that are vertically integrated from production to retail sales. This was a reasonable view of the industry prior to the 1970s when the industry was dominated by the "Seven Sisters" or "Majors", but even then it was not accurate, with a dozen or so "large independents" and thousands of small oil companies, plus a few government oil companies such as CFP and Pemex. Most of the world's oil production was owned by the

By the end of the seventies the scenery had changed dramatically, with most of the world's production owned by governments, and the government take dramatically increased even where the government did not own the production (e.g. Australian ORRs up from 5% to over 30%) and OPEC control of production resulting in a dramatic price increase.

Then in the eighties the price of oil, with production increases (resulting from new discoveries prompted by the increased price) oil prices dropped to just about the lowest (in real prices) ever, resulting in mergers throughout the oil industry, and a massive slowdown in exploration, setting the scene for the present situation.

There are now a few major companies, such as Exxon-Mobil and Shell, but the only company even slightly resembling the majors of the pre-OPEC era is Shell, and collectively they represent a far smaller proportion of the industry than they ever have. There are far more "large small" oil companies than ever, many of which are not traditional oil companies, and most of which are only explorers/producers. Most oil is shipped by independent traders, and as has been the case since the 1970s, to the extent anyone "controls" the industry, it is the government oil companies in the major producing countries. Few of these new players have seen any incentive to get into refining, and most refineries are the same ones that were producing in the 1960s, either still owned by the same majors or their successors or which have been sold.


John

[RonMcGr]

They would be happy to have any reserves, they got squat !

Eggsactly :D
That is why Magabe is still alive :p