Lawmakers blast oil companies in hearing

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- U.S. lawmakers blasted major oil companies on Tuesday for "virtually worthless" and "cookie cutter" plans to handle a deepwater oil disaster as top industry executives testified on BP's massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Summoned before the House of Representatives subcommittee on energy and environment, executives from five major oil companies defended their own drilling practices as they sought to stave off the prospect of restrictive new regulations on the industry.

The hearings are a significant risk to BP and to the future of U.S. offshore drilling, as lawmakers begin to consider legislative options to address the Gulf oil spill and to possibly increase the penalties companies will face.

Lawmakers did not seem convinced that the other four major oil companies -- Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell -- had better contingency plans than BP. BP is struggling to contain oil that has gushed from a ruptured well for nearly two months in the worst spill in U.S. history.

Representative Bart Stupak, a Democrat and one of the lawmakers heading a probe of the disaster, criticized the companies' response plans for offshore accidents. He singled out Exxon Mobil for having a 40-page media response strategy, including pre-written talking points.

"Exxon Mobil's plan appears more concerned about public perception than wildlife protection given the fact that their media plan is fives times longer than its plan for protecting wildlife," said Stupak, adding that all of the companies' plans were "virtually worthless when an actual spill occurs."

Exxon profit tumbles 66 percent, misses Street view

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Awwwwwwwwwwww poor them

Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM - News) reported a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit as natural gas and crude oil prices slid from a year ago and the global recession hurt demand for fuel.

Exxon shares fell 1.6 percent in early trading.

Exxon, which raked in record profits last year, has seen earnings wither as crude oil prices have fallen by more than half from a year ago. Refiners have also seen margins under pressure as weakness in industrial demand for fuels like diesel has caused a buildup in stockpiles.

"It looks disappointing," said Phil Weiss, an analyst at Argus Research. "They missed on margins and production."

Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said second-quarter net income was $3.95 billion, or 81 cents per share, down from $11.68 billion, or $2.22 per share, a year earlier.