Chevron Profit Doubles

One day after ExxonMobil, the world's biggest company, posted record third-quarter profits, Chevron reported that its third-quarter profits more than doubled, thanks to oil that soared higher than $140 per barrel last summer.

Chevron, the U.S.'s second-largest oil company, reported earnings of $7.9 billion for the quarter, up 58 percent from the same period last year.

Happy days likely will soon be cooling for Big Oil, however. After peaking at $147 per barrel in mid-July, the price of oil has plummeted and is now selling for less than $65 per barrel, figures that will show up in fourth-quarter results.

At the same time, however, lower oil prices mean lower prices at the pump, which may drive demand back up.

Either way, the oil companies win. It's just a question of how much they win.

-- Frank Ahrens