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Yup, the oil companies are investing millions to produce more crude oil.

Which doesn't do a d@mn thing to reduce the cost of the gasoline you and I buy at the gas station.

For there could be a 900 million billion trillion quadrillion quintillion barrels of oil sitting in storage and gasoline for still be $2.50~.

Because America has only 17 million barrels/day refining capacity and a 21 million barrel/day demand.

It looks like oil company executive are just as stupid as knee-jerk liberals, in that they simply cannot understand that there are two sides to the fuel coin. One is oil, but the other is gasoline. If you only drill for oil, you cannot satisfy consumer's demand. And likewise, if you build refineries only, you're doomed to failure. Only when the refinery production is equal to supply can you meet the needs of the consumer.

So tell me again why the oil companies are investing in projects that'll get them more oil, but won't actually to a danged thing to meet the consumer's demand for gasoline?

The last group (Arizona Clean Fuels) that submitted a request to build a refinery did so, if my memory is correct, about 10 years ago. Progress plods on, last I heard they got an okay from both the EPA and the (Az.) state clean air organization this year but there are still other permits they needs before it can even break ground.

It's a three billion dollar investment and if you figure the process has been going on for 10 years that's a long time to tie up even projected capital use. If I were an oil company executive I wouldn't commit that type of money to a long term slow payback program, especially considering the potential legal liability if there's a disaster or if oil does another nose dive. Imagine explaining to shareholders a six billion dollar investment that loses money. Ouch.

Were it me I'd probably be far more inclinded to use the money building elsewhere.

There is a bill that narrowly passed the House (212-210) that would improve on the whole permitting process but last I heard it's fate with the Senate was cloudy.

But the bottom line is that no one can invest in a refinery even if it was a good investment, fact is they are pretty much impossible to build.