The Extent of High Oil on Refiners (Sunoco Earnings)

This past quarter is case-in-point on how high oil prices hurt refiners.

Refining and Supply earned $32 million in the second quarter of 2008 versus $482 million in the second quarter of 2007. The decrease in earnings was due to significantly lower realized margins along with higher expenses and lower production volumes. The lower margins reflect the negative impact of higher average crude oil costs and lower product demand than a year ago, especially for gasoline, while the higher expenses were largely the result of increased prices for purchased fuel and utilities.

So they made $450 million less when oil prices went from $60-$70 a barrel to $140 a barrel. So whenever someone talks about the "oil companies record profits" need to look at how these high prices blast the refinery end of the oil majors.