Replies

-"We have an issue with refining capability, the US hasn't built a refinery in 25 years, so it is an issue"

I agree this is an issue, but it has absolutely nothing to do with our current price levels. Look, if we 'refining' was a definite issue, that means we would not be 'refining enough', which means we wouldn't have 'enough' refined gasoline in the market place, which means that we would not have 'enough' gas at the pump to meet our demand - and you would then start to see 'lines at the pump' because stations would not have 'enough' to pump into everyone's gas tank to meet demand.

There are no current 'refining capacity' shortages, because you can get all the gasoline you need at the pump. If there is a "shortage" tell me what part of the country there are 'lines' at the pump.

Did you read my post at all? The prices are spiking NOW to slow down people's consumption for the inevitable shortages that will result from so much loss in refining capacity. Will there or will there not be less refined product in the coming weeks and months until these refineries are back online? Will that not cause shortages, rationing, etc?

I didn't say it was the 'cause' of high prices here in the US. I said it was an issue we have to deal with. Prices are high because of an artificial price of $70 a barrel. Again, even OPEC says it's not necessary, even with higher demand worldwide.

I want us to drill for oil in our own country, we have plenty of it here. If we don't have to rely on the Middle East for the majority of our oil, then our price will go down. Politicians and others have not wanted to push the idea of drilling for oil in our own land for years because of environmental groups that pressure them about nonsense and the fact that the price of oil was cheap coming from the ME they could ignore the issue. Now we need to fend for ourselves and use our own resources that are available on land and in the ocean.
So, if folks complain about 3 and 4 dollar gas, I again will reply 'start exploring and drilling for oil in our own country and cut the dependency on foreign sources of oil"