More Refining Capacity Coming
By Ian
Quick nod to an interesting article in the CS Monitor: Refinery bottleneck to ease. Oil capacity is something we've talked about before around T&B.
Oddly (or not, depending on your view of the thoughtfullness of the media), the article doesn't mention that the addition of capacity might well have a lot to do with the recent high prices of gasoline. Refineries were at the limits of their capacities and were, for a few years in the 90s, actually net losses to operate. The increase in the price of a barrel of oil and the sudden interest in/ability to increase refining capacity isn't just coincidence. The article does, however, wish to suggest that some of the new interest in expanding refining capacity are due to potential changes in regulation.
Given the numerous articles and public debate about "windfall" oil company profits, I can't help but mention that it seems like either profound ignorance or a deliberate dodge to not explicitly discuss a link between high prices for oil and gas and the ability to invest in expansion to meet future demand. In other words, am I stretching things by suggesting that the CSM is trying to avoid saying that profits from high gas prices may not go right into the pockets of oil company executives?