re: Bloomberg Piece: The Real Reason Gas Is So Expensive? The US Needs More Refineries

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We have the same amount of refineries we had in 2020

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Actually we don’t. And Europe has even less.

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No US president has been reelected with gasoline prices above $4 a gallon

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That's because there's never been an incumbent President running for re-election when gasoline was $4 or higher. The highest was ~$3.74/gallon in late 2012 when Obama was running for his 2nd term.

Even adjusted for inflation, it doesn't rise to that level. The authors might as well have said "No US president has been reelected with humans living on Mars" or "No US president has been reelected with the gleemor being fatula83paks&^(sd" and it would have been equally as accurate.

And ridiculous.

I know the quality level of journalism has been on the decline for a while, but... damn.

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The Real Reason Gas Is So Expensive?

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Why is Bloomberg telling the truth for once? It's usually unadulterated propaganda from them...

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Because they know they can't pull the wool over people's eyes when it comes to gas and gas prices.

We see the price on the machine while we pump it and we see the increases conspicuously advertised on large signs at every gas station we drive pass. We see the balance charges on out bank and credit card statements and we remember what we paid last year, two years ago, five years ago, etc.

Most people in this country are pretty dumb and easily manipulated by political propaganda but the price of gas and groceries falls under the "piss on me and tell me it's raining" category.

They know it and they know they can't fix before the political fallout begins.

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No US president has been reelected with gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, and the price at the pump is almost $4.70 this summer. It’s the single biggest economic threat to Joe Biden’s presidency.

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Subtle, why something bad is good take...

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By the time the next refinery comes on line, it will most likely be after the NEXT presidential term.

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Truth. It takes years to plan, design, and execute upgrades to existing facilities. Starting from dirt on a new refinery large enough to make an impact would likely take the better part of a decade and cost as much as a couple of ballistic missile submarines. Hell, the lead time alone on some of that fixed equipment is going to be in the 1.5 to 2 year range. There just aren't many places on the planet that can construct those huge vessels and reactors.

Some of the pumps alone are going to push a year just because of the material requirements.

This administration is what happens when arrogance, ignorance, and ineptitude collide.

So he spent his entire campaign telling us no more Oil and were just supposed to expect Oil Companies to spend money on increasing refining capacity?

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don’t think I’ve ever met someone who worked in the oilfield that was a member of a union.

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Not oilfield, but a lot of plant workers/operators are union members.

With how readily fired and hired, no way.

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Bloomberg Piece: The Real Reason Gas Is So Expensive? The US Needs More Refineries

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Not exactly news. This has been known since the Great Depression days of the 1930's. While they claim 1977 as the last "new" refinery I think that was actually an upgrade of an existing facility and not technically "new". I think the last true oil refinery in the USA was built before World War II. As crazy as this seems, it is the fault of both Democratic and Republican US presidents since for not holding the oil companies feet to the fire in all those years (some the best earnings years in US history).