Somebody posed the question - if gas is so high, then why not pump more oil here? Or tap into the reserves to lower the price at the pump -.
Here's my take on it. The problem is not really the oil itself. There's plenty of oil. The problem is refining it into gasoline. Take Texas, for example. There are literally millions of oil wells here, and the vast majority of them are pumping (as I type). The oil that's pumped out of the Permain Basin and Brent Shale is known as 'Sweet Crude'. The Beverly Hillbillies called it 'Texas Tea'. It's a lighter grade of crude oil. The refineries we have on the Texas/Louisiana border (and in Oklahoma and other places along the Gulf Coast) are formulated to process/refine heavy crude oil, which primarily comes form Mexico/South America and from Canada (the TarSands - remember all the fuss about the pipeline from Canada to Houston to pump it down there?). THAT'S the issue. The refineries can't convert fast enough to start processing the light crude (to make gasoline) in time to pull the prices back down.
So, folks like OPEC+ have to commit to pumping more heavy crude, in order for tankers to get it over here fast enough so the refineries can refine it into 87, 89, 93 and diesel. And that's gunna take time..
I think we'll be stuck with the high gas prices for awhile......
Trust me.... I drive a Ford F-350 everyday, and diesel is $5.10/gal here in Ft Worth........