Gas over $3 per gallon, oil companies post huge profits

WILMINGTON — The average American is now paying more than $3 a gallon at the pump. At the same time, big oil companies are posting huge profits this quarter.

Shell Oil president John Hofmeister has set out on a 50-city tour across the US to explain why oil companies are doing so well, while consumers are feeling the pinch.

Hofmeister said, “Our numbers are big because our volumes are so big. So the point is that to invest in new oilfields, we need our profits to pay for the costs of additional production, whether it’s in this country or whether it’s somewhere else in the world.”

Hofmeister also said oil companies need to look for future alternative energy sources.

Gas prices are running pretty steady…and it doesn’t look like we’re going to get a break from the high prices any time soon.

In Wilmington the price of unleaded averages $3.11 a gallon. That’s three cents higher than the state average. But it could be a lot worse. We’re still 30 cents a gallon less than in California — the price of unleaded there averages $3.41 a gallon.