I've heard a lot of complaints from people all around central Wisconsin, and everybody seems to have the sneaking suspicion that the oil companies are manipulating the price. I think we should keep our eyes open for any illegal industrial collusion, but the fact is, illegal collusion is not the only explanation for the high prices. The fact is, we haven't built any new refineries in this country for 20 years. None are currently being built, and none are on the drawing boards. Nobody wants them in their back yards.
Nobody wants refineries built in their neighborhoods.
What's more, our regional refineries can't produce enough gas to meet our needs, so the extra fuel has to be brought in by pipelines, which are also unpopular. And even if you could find a place to build a refinery, it might not be profitable over the long run because government regulations require 12 different blends of gasoline for use in different parts of the country and at different times of the year in order to meet various environmental goals. Managing the different blends is costly and difficult. As a result, the nation's remaining, aging refineries are operating at full capacity without being able to meet the demand. So, if there's a fire or a breakdown of some sort at any of the existing refineries, supplies get choked off and prices skyrocket because fuel supplies are so tight.