Scraping the bottom of the barrel

Data released each year at this time by the major oil companies on their prior-year performances rarely generates much interest outside the business world. With oil prices at an all-time high and Big Oil reporting record profits, however, this year has been exceptional. Many media outlets covered the announcement of mammoth profits garnered by ExxonMobil, the US’s wealthiest public corporation, and other large firms. Exxon’s fourth-quarter earnings, at US$8.42 billion, represented the highest quarterly income ever reported by a US firm.