Oil companies aren't all that transparent. They also aren't all that alike. Oil insiders will tell you of rivalries between them that never make the news. Each company has its own personality. Some of these pillars what leftists call the Big Oil monolith relish wild risk taking, like ConocoPhillips, some are go—along good boys like ChevronTexaco, and some are icy by—the—books individualists like ExxonMobil.  Royal Dutch Shell, Total, YPF—Repsol and BP each have personalities of their own, too. These differences probably have some effects on what they lobby for in U.S. Congress. Exxon made headlines worldwide by defying Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez who insisted on breaking their operating contract and forcing them into a Chavez—majority 'joint venture.' Exxon wasn't up for that, and opted instead to sell its precious acreage stake in a principled stand, instead of letting Chavez turn their operations into a worker's collective led by Chavista...(Read Full Post)