Big Oil: Booming Profits, Climbing Costs

Profits are booming, but energy outfits have to work harder—and spend lots more—to keep pulling ever-pricier oil out of the ground. That has fueled a spending competition for services such as drilling equipment, driving up companies’ business costs for the past couple years.

And developments in recent months—such as higher taxes and new investment projects—are not the kind that will go away if oil prices fall. Meanwhile, experts are debating whether the global economic demand that’s been boosting prices this year can be sustained.
Business Week