Bigness matters in the oil business. Companies want to get bigger and stronger. With Triton, Hess moves up another peg so they now have more entrée into a variety of areas.

The big kicker here is the potential for oil and gas in Equatorial Guinea. This will give Hess potential significant upside if they have additional discoveries there.

The current valuation largely reflects the company's strong fundamental outlook.

It's about time. This was supposed to be a quick and easily executed merger. In other industries, these mergers do take years, but not in the oil industry.

We're evaluating various opportunities in real estate, as well as in the oil and gas business with the increased revenues we've been receiving. We're planning to invest the oil and gas capital commensurate with the increased revenue.

Only by actually reaping some of the companies' windfall for American motorists and regulating the refining business can this oil company profiteering be brought under control.