Were they singing the praises of an entire industry which kept providing esential commodities despite doing so at a loss?
In a word, NO.
Most of the people here who gripe about "BIG" anything assume some monolithic evil is behind the controls bagging up the dough, their dough, and that they have made (somehow) no investments, placed no capital at risk, etc.
Yet these same people would not balk at selling their house for more than they paid for it--the more the better. No one carps at getting too BIG of a raise.
Well folks, oil companies do not print money. They earn it. They earn it by taking investment capital and converting it into infrastructure, producing oil wells, refineries, and distribution networks.
The SMALL oil company I have been doing geology for, has invested in just this neck of the woods, 120 million+ in drilling wells, running feeder pipelines, etc. in just the past year.
This with no guarantee that the price of oil will not collapse again (as it periodically does), or that people just like most of you, who thoroughly ignorant of the industry, will scream bloody blue murder because they almost had to pay as much for a gallon of gasoline as they do for milk, and maybe get the congress to TAX the oil companies (How that ADDITIONAL TAX translates to YOU PAYING LESS is beyond me!).
Maybe "BIG MILK" is next on the radar.
After all, all the caterwalling of the people who feel ripped off when someone else makes a return on their investment gets the CONgress to put a cap on how much profit an oil company can make, maybe a cap on how much you can make on your house or stock portfolio is next. You do not even have to replace diminishing reserves with new production, regardless of price. You do not have to fight the selfsame MSM to try to put in a refinery for the umpteenth time only to be stymied because years ago someone couldn't drive the effin boat!
NO, and now that the years of waiting and investment have begun to pay off with capital that can keep things going or expand the production of oil and petroleum products so an ungrateful consumer can get the same product cheaper, the selfsame consumers go on the attack like a bunch of spoiled children.
The same people who crow about bringing down Dan Rather are soooo willing to march in lockstep against the 'BIG' enemies of their wallet, the evil CAPITALISTIC OIL COMPAINES, who might want to show a profit for their investors.
As for the percentages, just for the entertainment of the innumerate, in 1980 the region I work in had 212 drilling rigs operating. In July 1986 there were two. That's right, two. When things picked up a mite toward the end of the year, one of the papers ran the headline "Oil Activity Doubles in the State". Number of rigs drilling? Four. Down 5300% from 1980. Doubled from the month before.
Don't be suckers and fall for the MSM BS.
:::::Standing on my chair, applauding wildly and shouting "WOOO-HOOOO!!!" at your comments:::::::
Thank you, Smokin' Joe. The MSM has pushed the "Property is Theft" and "Capitalism is a Conspiracy" nonsense for so long that many people have bought it without really thinking about it.
There just seems to be something in the human psyche that finds it easier to blame a problem on a conspiracy rather than investigate the facts.
When Woolworths 5&10 Cents stores took off around 1900 in most major cities, there were Wal-Mart like attacks about "Big Buisness" killing small shops. And so it goes..
Actually it should be since government subsidies & policies are the biggest reasons for its high cost.