http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticl...LLIPS-EARNS.xml

SEATTLE - After a painful summer at the gas pumps for so many Americans, we're now getting a look at how much profit the oil companies raked in. Extra cash is being measured in not just millions but billions of dollars, and that's even getting the attention of a Republican-controlled Congress.
It was a very good summer for the oil giants, which are just now starting to announce record profits for July, August and September. With all of that money being made, even Republicans are turning up the heat for changes in the oil industry.
The political anxiety over high gasoline prices is reaching a new level in Congress. It's become so tense, House Republican leaders are taking aim at the oil industry, traditionally a GOP ally.
“These are extraordinary times that call for tough measures,” said Dennis Hastert, House Speaker. “We expect oil companies to do their part to help ease the pain American families are feeling with high energy prices."
Lawmakers are pressing the industry to explain what it's doing to boost fuel supplies and lower costs and questions about why a new refinery has not been built in the United States in the past 30 years.
There's a whole lot of money being raked in by the oil companies these days. In the past three months, the top five oil giants made anywhere from $20-$28 billion in profit. BP alone reports an extra $2 billion more than the same period last year. Even the deadly gulf coast hurricanes have been a boon.
Analysts say idled production drove prices higher and those higher prices more than made up for lost production from the storms.
Democrats called for more drastic measures, such as temporarily suspending the federal gas tax or imposing a tax on windfall profits that the oil companies are seeing.
Other oil companies, such as Exxon-Mobil, Chevron and Conoco-Phillips, will announce their record profits during the days ahead.