I really think most people in the USA does not realize what this means to the poorest countries.

The effect of the credit crisis in the United States is reducing people's disposable incomes and you'd expect this to have an impact on the oil price, but it's not having any impact.

Collectively, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC earned $36.9 billion in the first quarter, a 25 percent increase from last year.