How soon until we get back to reasonbly priced American-sourced fuel?
Its easier to predict imho that USA oil production will keep increasing by about 1 million barrels a day for at least the next two years according to the iea. (I think that the USA will continue to increase oil production by 1 million barrels a day at least through 2018 and maybe through 2020 because of massive easily accessible oil in the Permian basin plus surprises elsewhere.
Somewhere 2-5 years from now prices at the pump should ease by up to a dollar. Trouble with oil is that unlike natural gas—prices for oil are set by worldwide demand. Right now worldwide demand is huge and growing. The USA is one of only a few countries with growing production. Many others are seeing their production falling. So it will be a couple years before supply catches up with demand.
Where are the new refineries?
This was always a false report. Its always been cheaper for the refiners to add new capacity to their existing plants than to build a whole new plant from scratch.
The biggest disappointment of the GW admins was this "awl man's" abject failure to leave us with a 50-year plan. For the remainder of this century, at least, the world will continue to run on Oil-Gas-Coal-Nuclear energy sources.
IMNVHO, there is absolutely no natural shortage of any of these sources. Certainly there is enough to cover Mother Earth while the world transitions to hydrogen fuel cells, etc.
IMNVHO,If government is to have a role, it should be to foster as complete a state of energy independence as possible. Right now in the interplay of private companies and government meddling, we have the worst of all possible worlds in the energy markets.
Of course this is magnified 10-fold when the government is in the hands of the LoonieLeft, particulary within the regulatory agencies that really run things.