Our nation's problem isn't the amount of crude oil, it's the amount of refinery capacity.
You can't "jawbone" your way to lower prices on anything. Thats embarrassing. You lower prices by drilling and building refineries.
If there isn't enough competition to make that happen, then that is where you intervene, to increase competition. The US government stood by and watched the majors merge and merge again during the nineties, and fewer players in any market is not in the consumer's interest.
But present policy is to allow mergers, and make the construction of any kind of energy facility exceedingly difficult. Tenured professors may think thats a great idea, but if you work for a living, or aspire to, its not good news.
from the Bloomberg article, "April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia plans to invest in oil refineries in India as part of its push to expand capacity in Asia, home to the world's fastest growing energy markets, after failing to secure licenses to build new refineries in the U.S."
I doubt that China and India are paying full price for oil. No way does a China or India have the ability to pay full price and in cash. They supply something that Iran, Venezuela, Arab countries want and get a discount. That something is cheap consumer goods and advanced weaponry. Not stating proven fact, this is my theory.