[Rodney King]

And if, after a set timeframe (let's say... a year), the oil companies cannot show a sizeable increase in refinery construction or expansion,

Uh, they can't. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to get a refinery past the regulators, environmentalists, and the courts? Perhaps you should do it, you can make a fortune.

[gogogodzilla]

Consider that Exxon has earned roughly $10 billion in profit in just the last quarter, and that this quarter's profit are expected to be higher.

I seriously doubt that, even WITH all the red tape, a refinery costs more than $20 billion to build.