Exxon, Shell, BP makes money from different Types of deals like storage, transport, exploration, cracks, swaps, buying physical-selling futures, Natural Gas, Refinery etc etc etc etc Read this article. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCStCdOsonHc&refer=home Stockpiling crude may provide higher returns than commodities, stocks and Treasuries as the U.S., Japan and Europe endure simultaneous recessions for the first time since World War II. Crude sank 70 percent in New York since peaking at $147.27 in July. The Standard & Poorâs 500 Index fell 38 percent this year and two-year government notes yield 0.9 percent. âThe bottom line is that you buy crude at a low price and lock in a profit by selling it forward,â said Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale SA in London. âItâs low risk. The contango can definitely pay for storage and the cost of capital and leave plenty left over.â Royal Dutch Shell Plc sees so much potential in the strategy that it anchored a supertanker holding as much as $80 million of oil off the U.K. to take advantage of higher prices for future delivery. The ship is one of as many as 16 booked for potential storage instead of transporting crude, said Johnny Plumbe, chief executive officer of London shipbroker ACM Shipping Group Plc. Oil Storage
Just play the game now with these rules in place. i.e. speculate. Of course we probably just won't see "record" quarterly profits for a while now
The HU contract stopped trading in 2006, I believe. The new contract is RBOB (reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending) and the symbol is RB.
Arabs mad? We are the ones who should be mad! We're still paying a buck-fifty for something that's worth no more than 50 cents a gallon. Imagine how I felt when it was at 4 dollars!!
Somali Pirates have hijacked and are holding a Saudi super-tanker containing $100 million worth of crude oil off the coast.
Don't you think Giant Oil Companies are creating "artificial shortage of oil" by Storing oil and "hijacking supply". If all the worldwide stored oil is released into the markets right now then Oil price will fall to $10 per barrel immediately. Giant Oil companies are indirectly behaving like Somali pirates by "hijacking supply". If Crude Oil falls to $10 immediately, USA and Europe people will have more "spending money" in their hands.