[thackney]

I wonder how much of these “obscene” profits that oil companies show at times of rising prices are due to the reevaluation of inventories at the higher matket prices.

Product in storage is not profit. It is an asset for accounting of net worth but profit requires revenues from sales less expenses. Increasing or decreasing assets only effect profit when they are sold.

[LantzALot]

Increasing or decreasing assets only effect profit when they are sold.

True, but if a company maintains low enough levels of inventory, the sale may occur while the price is higher than when the inventory was purchased. And not all the "sales" transactions are to John Q. Intercompany transactions would be recorded as "sales." The media will scream at the profit the selling company took, and overlook the bath the purchasing company took.

(Again, I haven't looked it up, just theorizing.)