Oil companies don't control the price at the pump; they don't control the pump at all. Gas stations "control" the price at the pump, and their margins are pennies per gallon. As for using "excuses" to raise the price - why do they need excuses? They're a business trying to make money; they have the absolute legal and moral right to charge whatever the market will bear for their product.
Perhaps you should speak to someone who owns/operates a "gas station" and tell them they control the price at the pump. I'd like to be there when they respond to that statement.