A 2-Cent Profit for Exxon on a Gallon of Gas?

A Townhall.com reader left a very astute comment on our The Democrats Demonize It, But Who Really Is Big Oil? post that was too fascinating not to check out: "Only 2 cents profit per gallon of gasoline... but Americans' ignorance of this fact gives Obama room to continually demonize one of our most vital industries."~from Sonny's Mom

Shocked? Dr. Mark Perry analyzes here how little profit Exxon Moble makes on a gallon of gas, compared to state/federal/local revenues of gas, which average 48.1 cents per gallon :

"How does that compare to oil company industry profits per gallon?

According to this post on Exxon Mobil’s Perspective Blog , “For every gallon of gasoline, diesel or finished products we manufactured and sold in the United States in the last three months of 2010, we earned a little more than 2 cents per gallon. That’s not a typo. Two cents.”

He also includes this great chart:

So the next time you hear Democrats going on about big oil, just remember that Uncle Sam is getting a far higher cut of those profits than the oil companies.