Reply #5: Rolling Stone is not known for its insightful business reporting...

[Jnana]

and it is easy to see why. They make the assertion that oil companies receive subsidies; however, when you drill down through the links you discover that the only direct outlays of taxpayer dollars are to corn producers for ethanol. Say what...? Ethanol subsidies are for corn farmers not oil companies.

As it turns out Most are in the form of tax benefits, such as the deduction for “intangible drilling costs” (labor, repairs, hauling, you name it) in oil exploration—a notoriously abused provision of the tax code.

So, these so-called "subsidies" are actually nothing more than deductions for businesses expenses, which are allowed by the US tax code for ALL businesses. Rolling Stone should "roll another one" and leave the business of reporting on businesses to real business publications.

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Exxon's profits jumped as a result of the jump in crude oil prices.

Brent crude futures, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, jumped 46 percent during the July-through-September period to average $112.09 a barrel.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-27/exxon-mobil-profit-tops-10-billion-on-crude-oil-price-surge.html