Is this a good performance or a bad performance? Seven billion sounds like a lot, but if you have to invest seven HUNDRED billion in drilling platforms, R&D, drilling rights, etc. to generate this level of profit, then your annual return on investment is only four percent, and this is not an exorbitant return on investment. My point is that the absolute profit amount is only meaningful if you also know the return on investment.
Why would oil companies invest in new resources when refining is maxed out? Or is that just a myth?