The oil and natural gas industry is massive because it has to be in order to effectively compete for global energy resources.

Profits are sizable when it comes to industry earnings – but that reflects the size of the industry, not the financial performance of oil companies.

There is considerable misunderstanding about the oil and natural gas industry's earnings and how they compare with other industries. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that its earnings are typically in line with other industries, and are often lower.

In the first quarter of 2010, oil and natural gas earnings averaged 7.3 cents per dollar of sales compared with 7.8 cents per dollar for U.S. manufacturing as a whole and 8.4 cents per dollar for U.S. manufacturing excluding the financially challenged auto industry.

Over the last five years, average earnings for the oil and natural gas industry have been well in line with the rest of the U.S. manufacturing industry, averaging about 7 cents for every dollar of sales. That average was just 5 cents on the dollar in early 2009 as a result of the nation’s economic downturn

Industry earnings are critical to the future energy security of America. Healthy earnings allow the industry to invest in innovative technologies that improve our environment and increase production, while leading the search for new technologies and energy sources that will provide a more secure tomorrow.