Earnings Updates Signal Another Fat Quarter for Big Oil

Interim quarterly earnings reports released Thursday by ConocoPhillips (COP) and Marathon Oil Co. (MRO) signal that the oil majors will once again report huge profits at the end of the month.

Compared with the third quarter of 2005, a record-breaking period for some companies, ConocoPhillips and Marathon saw higher natural gas prices, but lower crude prices. The booming refining margins of the September quarter fell somewhat, but the oil companies benefited from higher retail margins.

Schlumberger