[thackney]

I think we need more refineries.

We already refine more product than we use ourselves. We export surplus refined product.

One refinery goes down, and it has negative ramifications clear across the nation.>/i>

Again, government is the limiting factor and not the industry. We have a multitude of different blends and special receipies required in different location. When California lost a major refinery and had another major one shut down due to the strike, the price spiked.

You cannot take Texas gasoline and use it in California. The government restrictions limit the industry ability to move product where it is needed.

I’m not industry savvy enough to address the light crude vs sweet crude issue.

It is light sweet, versus heavy sour, and it is THE issue concerning the export ban. Otherwise, we would not notice it.

While imports have dropped, they have not dropped equally across the different types.

[DoughtyOne]

Thank you for your response.

I realize government is the problem with new refineries. That should not be the case.

I’m certainly no lover of big government. I do consider a strategic energy source to be something with a high enough impact on the nation, to warrant government purview.

There are compelling points to be made on both side of this issue, and there will times when there are going to be conflicts with traditional beliefs, as they cross over between a normal product and one with strategic implications.

I am arguing my point, but down the road I may see it differently. For now, this is how I see it.