Yetthese billions are a disappointmentcomparedwiththebonanzaofpreviousyears (Shell, for example, rakedin $31.4 billion in 2008 alone) when soaringoil pricespulledprofitseverhigher.
The industry organisation insists that the country's big oil companies - BP, Caltex, Mobil and Shell - "do not profit from high crude oilprices", but are in fact "cushioning the Australian motorists from the full effects of rising crude oilprices".