JANUARY 23, 2012.
Refining Puts Lid on Big Oil's Profits
BUSINESS
JANUARY 23, 2012.Refining Puts Lid on Big Oil's Profits .
ISABEL ORDÓÑEZ Continued high oil prices are expected to boost fourth-quarter earnings of ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips. However, profits of the three-largest U.S. oil companies by market value will be capped by sluggish results from their refining arms and depressed prices for natural gas.
The three oil giants will post billions more in profits than they did in the fourth quarter of 2010, thanks to higher oil prices. But their "downstream operations"—which purchase crude to process into petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel—are likely to report a significant drop in gains. While oil prices rose steadily during the quarter, ...
ISABEL ORDÓÑEZ
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