Re:A Random Distribution of Wealth (2017)
by pc86 on Friday June 24, 2022 @08:50AM
(#31860981)
I haven't listened to the earnings calls but I seriously doubt the content boils down to "we could drill more and make more money, but... meh"
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Huh? No they make more money by restricting supply, that's what I'm saying.
Not drilling and not refining let's them jack up prices while blaming inflation
This doesn't make sense at the micro level though. You have (let's say) half a dozen oil companies all producing roughly x BBL for $y/BBL. What's to stop Company A, who has the means to do so already, from simply producing 1.1x BBL and keeping its price at $y?
At a macro level yes, if everyone increases supply 10% you'll see some price fluctuation, but that doesn't necessarily hold for an individual, self-interested company. Hell, that company could produce 10% more but sell it for $y-0.05 and presumably make more money selling for cheaper.