Oil industry awash in record levels of cash - Oil & Energy - MSNBC.com: "By just about any measure, the past three years have produced one of the biggest cash gushers in the oil industry�s history. Since January of 2002, the price of crude has tripled, leaving oil producers awash in profits. During that period, the top 10 major public oil companies have sold some $1.5 trillion worth of crude, pocketing profits of more than $125 billion."