Under the circumstances of the current high oil prices, whether the newly purchased planes can bring profit to the companies remains unclear.

These are circumstances created by a sustained high oil price scenario -- the level of which was unexpected by everyone. At this point, everyone knows high energy prices are positive for the communities of Midland and Odessa while being a negative for everyone else in other communities.

The companies stand to do some profit because the oil is already there. All they have to do is take it off the ground.

Most of their operating profit comes from the U.S.. Everyone's been hurt by rising oil and gas, especially smaller and mid-sized pickups.

There's been a lot of selling and profit taking — across all asset classes, actually. Oil is weaker, gold, silver, platinum and palladium are weaker, and base metals are weaker. It's just fed on itself.

Exxon Mobil reported record profit and people expect the same thing for oil producers' 2005 profit.