Assuming you are the head of a US oilco would you build&run a new refinery without a secure feed of crude oil?

Question

Keep in mind that OPEC and other oil-producing countries like Russia have all built refineries in order to sell oil products processed from their country's secure supply of domestic crude oil. The exporters, OPEC and NON-OPEC all want and often insist that the Oil importing nations and Multinational OILCO's buy their products rather than their crude oil because they make even more money per barrel of processed oil than they do selling it raw as crude. Did you know that the volume of products processed from raw crude oil is greater than the volume of the crude? Consider this little know Fact: There is a very lucrative 10 to 15 % volume gain when refining crude oils into gasoline and pertrochemical precursors. Having built refineries at home, the OPECkers and other oil exporting newcomers obviously want consumers to pay off their refining investments and they have the power to make it so.TWH 05222007-2

The reason the volume of products is greater than the volume of crude oil that is refined into products is related to the cracking processes that break the heavier long chain hydrocarbons in fuel oils into the shorter, lighter chains in gasoline. It has nothing to do with putting minute amounts of additives into the finished products. If you have worked in a refinery you would know this.

cottonpatch, if you build a new refinery where would the crude oil come from? And would the new refinery pay for itself if it has to compete with the new refineries already built in the middle east countries which compel/coerce the international/ multinational oilco's to purchase the finished products in lieu of , or in addition to the raw crude oil they are willing to supply to existing US domestic refineries. Please read into the facts I am putting out there for the ignorant or the uninformed. Petroleum product imports of about 2.9 million barrels(42gal/bbl)per day are forced importations which OPEC, having built the export refineries, have no interest in mothballing. Such is the reality of an oil industry dictated to by OPEC in cahoots with subservient multinational oilco's. TWH 05242007-1

The DOE under Sam Bodman has been directed by Bush43/Cheney not to sell any of the 0.8 billion barrels stockpiled for a rainy day in the Stategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)to US refiners. To do so would weaken/reduce demand for crude oil importation from the Middle East and the prices for their crude oils, and the products processed from those crude oil, would drop dramatically. Your President, Bush43 won't do this because it would hurt the rich Sunni Moslem families ruling Saudi Arabia and Kuwait which are Bush43, Bush41, and Cheney/Baker family friends. The oil in the SPR could be sold at 60-65$/bbl at a considerable profit since most of the stored crude was bought when crude oil prices were in the 15-40 $/bbl price rangel. We could use the profits from the sale of SPR crude oil to help Katrina/Rita victims rebuild their homes and we could cover the health insurance costs of 7 million uninsured children. TWH 05242007-2

Answer 1

The Dept of Energy should require someone to build one or more. What are they doing to help us?

Answer 2

Since you only have a small question in the middle.....

Yes, I did know that the volume of products processed from raw crude oil is greater than the volume of the crude. It's because these products are cut with other chemicals to make them burn cleaner, and more efficiently.

But building a refinery in this company has become nearly impossible. The lobbyist groups have made it very difficult to put in any new refineries.