"Larry Jaques" wrote:

Do you know why they ship our light crude overseas? Because the oil
companies, in their infinite wisdom, no longer build refineries here
which can process our heavier, more sour types of oil. We use the
light sweet and sell the rest. And the prices stay high because
said
oil companies, who are rolling in double digit windfall profits,
won't
build any more refineries of any type, bottlenecking the flow of
gasoline. That and the futures market and continual resale of oil
on
paper until the profits are made by all participating companies.
--------------------------------------
What a bunch of happy horse ****.

There will never be another "grass roots" refinery built in the USA
for a couple of reasons.

1) Not in my back yard. (NIMBY)
No one wants a refinery built in their back yard or near their town,
etc and fight the permitting process at every step in the process.

2) No oil company is willing to invest 20-30 years in getting a site
permitted so that construction to start.

Oil companies are willing to take risks, but 20-30 years "betting on
the come" just isn't going to happen.

BTW, the bulk of the oil pumped in SoCal is asphalt grade which may
help explain why there have been as many as six (6) companies
manufacturing asphalt roll roofing and asphalt shingles at the same
time here in SoCal.

The bulk of the oil held in reserve by the federal gov't is also
asphalt grade.

Lew