You're correct over ninty-percent of energy leases are being used by energy companies.

Rush, Fox and Bush want us to believe we can resource American jobs buy imported steal but their is something unique about oil that oil must be refinered thousands of miles from where it's produced.

Curently there is a half a billion dollars in refinery improvement ongoing.

The dollar hashalf it's value because conservatives cut taxes and have failed to pay for the war causing massive debt. If this had not happened gas would be $2.40 today.

It is not money that has stopped the oil companies from building new refinaries but the mountain of regulation that one must climb that has stopped new refinaries.

Why do people keep suggesting a windfall profit tax as if it could work?

This was tried ~30 years ago and it did not lower prices.

Why is it also that people cannot tell the difference between a profit margin and net profits? Yes their net profits are huge, but the profit margin has only been between 8-10%. There is nothing phenomenal about this.

Their profits are only big because of the volume of their industry.

In 2006, Exxon paid $25 billion in taxes, add the tax that we pay at the pump, and you want the goverment to receive more from oil? They didn't drill it, refine it, or ship it. The government has made enough off of gas.

Well said, Mr. Samuelson!!

And the Bushies handed Exxon $18 billion in subsidies last year. And Exxon CEO Lee Raymond retired with $300 million in the bank. I'm sure he doesn't lie awake at night worrying about high gas prices: "Life is great, thank you."

There are no new refineries being built because none is needed. Worldwide production will begin a slow decline, probably already has, so existing capacity is sufficient. This would be fine except for the spike in demand from growing economies. Eventually 'big oil' will begin to desecrate the wilds when oil is quite a bit more expensive. It'll take years to bring online, and fail to ease much pain.

Don't beat up oil companies if they aren't drilling enough for your liking. Start you own oil company.

re Brett 4:03

You mention no new building of refinaries, which would surely have to go through a long approval process. But if it was really profitable to the oil companies, wouldn't they do it?

And you fail to address the issue of the closing of 36 refinaries that was mentioned in the letter. Existing refinaries are being closed, so why would oil companies build new ones?

So say the oil companies drilled everywhere people are talking about, what guarantee do we have that the oil produced would stay here? It seems to me that oil companies are in business to make money, and if they could sell the oil to China, India or wherever for more $$$$ than they would sell it for here, what is there to stop them doing just that?? How sure are we that we would benefit from all this oil production? Can we guarantee that the oil produced would in fact help us?

Just a thought.

Things to bring to the beach, circa 2018:

1: Snacks
2: Sunscreen
3: De-greaser

The oil companies on the North Slope are not required to sell the oil back to the US but can sale to the highest bidder,(they are already doing this with the Natural Gas market)most likely China or Japan. We can open up ANWR to satisfy Asia's growing demand. That should satisfy every conservative.

Brett, if regulations are such a burden on new refineries, then why did they close 36 that were already running???

Regulations did not make them close, Mergers did.

Also, why are oil companies not drilling existing lease sites?

We should not allow any new leases until each existing lease site is tapped.

I have heard the argument many times that we should allow the oil companies to drill where ever they want in the United States and off shore on the conservative radio programs.

What I have never heard on these same programs is the fact that oil will go to the highest bidder perhaps other countries.

I guess their argument is to use our dwindlig oil supplies to flood the market to drive down the global prices.

Who will benefit from this stupid idea?

Oil companies want to do everything they can to keep the price of oil high.

Thanks for the answers, it was about what I assumed. American oil for Americans wouldn't be factual.

So why are we so hip on helping the big oil companies make more $$$$ off of our resources? What is the benefit to the American consumer?

All this talk about drilling like it is really going to help seems lacking, I guess I missed something somewhere. I'm all for drilling for oil if it benefits the U.S. not just U.S. oil companies.

Why all the beat up on oil companies, there private companies let them do what they want. Private enterprize will solve this problem if we leave them alone and let them drill. Its stupid to leave oil in the ground we could use. There's 500 billion barrells in the ground in North dakota and trillions in the oil shell in Utah.

True - It is a global market but increasing supply to the global market will reduce the price globably.

If China buys the oil that we would drill from ANWR(as was suggested earlier), then they would not buy as much oil from Russia (for example). Then Russia has more to sell, and they lower the price to do so.

hold on... | 9:06 a.m.

There is a balence, on one hand having fewer refinaries helps the oil companies, less capital and overhead and it keeps supply down. All this can contribute to higher profits for them.

On the other side if they could refine more they could sell more. Im not exactly sure at what point it becomes more porfitable.

But what the consumer wants is more supply, that will decrease the price. And as long as no one builds a new refinary there is no competition. Also keeping prices up.

So it would benifit the consumer to cut the red tape down to alow more refinaries.

You are also deceiving yourself if you believe oil companies haven't tried getting licenses for new refinaries. Many new licenses have been sought and none have made it to through the process in 30 years.

Eric, what exactly is a windfall profit? And I'm just curious, why are liberals only complaining about "Big Oil"? There are many other companies that have better returns than "Big Oil" but we don't hear the socialists complaining about them. Why is that?

It would be great to see Maxine Waters follow through on her pledge to "socialize; um, um, um, I mean take over your companies" and see how they would run them into the ground.

New refineries aren't going in because of the environmental wacko's.

Liberals love Europe, right? You want America to emulate Europe and all their socialism. Can any liberal tell us why most of those European nations are energy self-sufficient through - Off shore oil drilling, nuclear and other forms of energy that our "enlightened" liberals won't allow us to do?

Liberals want us to return to the age of horse and buggy and live in caves.

When Algore turns in his private plane and reduces his energy consumption in his mansion, then I'll start to take liberals a little more seriously. Until then...

Big Oil makes less net profit than Big Software, (Microsoft, or Big Computer (IBM, HP).
Only bigoted dimwits, out to shoot themselves in the nether extremities, want a "windfall profit tax"!
As for the refineries -- the problem is called "NIMBY" (Not In My BackYard). For years, the environmentalists have proudly and repeatedly pushed back on "Big Oil" requests for new refineries. "Ya need a 3-yr EPA study!" or somesuch.
Lift the restrictions on drilling AND refining and the price of gas will come down.
Oh...and by the way ... some of those leases yer referring to are for shale oil ...the stuff that takes a lot of water to extract ... ready for that?

Well, I see that the liberal environmental wackos weren't able to provide any proof or combat the facts presented by us crazy conservatives.....

It only takes facts to shut up the liberals....

If all you blame game people read the paper today you will see BUSH has promised to lift the EXCEUTIVE ban on off shore drilling.... 8 years in office and now he lifts the ban! It was not all the environmental wackos holding things up after all.....