By Jack Money, The Oklahoman Jul. 9--Analysts are applauding Boone Pickens' latest quest to cure the nation's dependency on foreign oil. "I hope Mr. Pickens' proposal gets government attention," said Fadel Gheit, managing director of oil and gas research for Oppenheimer & Co. in New York.

By Edward Iwata Houston-based ExxonMobil, the No.1 publicly traded oil company in the world, rode record crude oil prices to $10.9 billion in first-quarter earnings Thursday, despite lower production of oil.

Soaring oil prices are churning out huge profits for Big Oil. The question for the biggest player, ExxonMobil (XOM) will be whether first-quarter net income tops its own record of $11.66 billion set in the fourth quarter of 2007.

By Kristen Hays, Houston Chronicle Jan. 24--Oil prices hovering at or above $90 a barrel for the last three months of 2007 gave ConocoPhillips' quarterly profit a 37 percent boost, which exceeded Wall Street expectations, likely kicking off a series of strong reports by other oil majors.

By Vicki Vaughan, San Antonio Express-News Jan. 16--Shares of Valero Energy Corp. plummeted more than 8 percent in New York Stock Exchange trading Tuesday after analyst Fadel Gheit of Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded the company's stock.