Exxon Posts Enormous Profits

While a host of social welfare programs sit on the congressional chopping block, Exxon Mobil pulled in a near-record first-quarter profit of $10.65 billion.

The numbers are the highest the taxpayer-subsidized corporation has seen since 2008, when it made a grand total of $45 billion. —ARK

The Hill:

Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a $10.65 billion first-quarter profit Thursday, a 69 percent jump from the same period last year that will likely fuel political battles over U.S. oil-and-gas policy.

The company is benefiting from higher refining margins, but also a surge in the price of oil that has led to $4 per gallon gas prices in the U.S. It’s also made oil companies a rich political target for the White House.

Exxon’s profits are its highest since its record in 2008, when it posted profits of $10.9 billion in the first quarter, $11.7 billion in the second quarter and $14.8 billion in the third quarter (and $45 billion for the year).

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Flickr / World Economic Forum

Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson addresses a World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland in 2009.