So why doesnt someone build a new oil refinery ?

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The only reason why the gas prices are so high is because people keep paying for it, if I had a product that everyone couldn't live without, I'd see how high I could raise the prices too. They keep raising them, and people keep paying for it... figure it out.

The first part of that sentence is true. The rest... you haven't taken economics 101 have you?

Demand is starting to exceed supply. It's called peak oil. You'll be very familiar with this term very soon.

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was thinking the same

don't think so but it made me laugh... Only on GFY

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shit wind farm's are in trouble in California, they are killing the brids.

Source: Do Windmills Eat Birds?

Reminds of "So why doesnt someone build a money-growing tree?"

Fucking idiot.

Back to the topic at hand:

Number of refineries in the U.S.: 149
Number of refineries in 1981: More than 300
Capacity growth since 1981: -10%
Gasoline consumption since 1981: +45%
Gasoline imported from other countries: 10% of total consumption
Last NEW oil refinery build it the US: 1976
Number of refineries in the process of getting built: 1

From the New York Times: No New Refineries in 29 Years? There Might Well Be a Reason

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WASHINGTON - America's unquenched thirst for gasoline is stretching the nation's refineries to their limits. Even so, no new refineries are likely to be built soon, and that helps ensure that gas prices will stay high as America becomes increasingly dependent on foreign-made gasoline.

High investment costs and low profits have discouraged the building of any U.S. refineries since 1976. Absent new refineries, rising demand for gas will outpace American refiners' ability to make it.

U.S. and global demand for gasoline is at all-time highs. American refineries are running at more than 90 percent capacity, and at up to 96 percent in peak times. That's close to full throttle, and without precedent.

The soaring demand is highly profitable for refiners, who are squeezing out every gallon of gas they can. But their strain to meet the demand is one reason you're paying so much at the pump.

Investors fear that U.S. refineries are stretched too thin. A single accident could disrupt the strained supplies and lead to shortages. To ensure against that risk, buyers bid up the price of oil contracts, and the price of gasoline -- a refined derivative of oil -- rises in the process.

In virtually any other business, such tight production capacity would spark investment in new facilities. But refining isn't a typical business. Few Americans want refineries in their back yards, polluting the neighborhood and driving down home prices.

And a new, modern refinery costs more than $2.5 billion. That seems like Mount Everest to an industry that's coming out of two decades of weak profits.

Annual refinery profits have averaged below 6 percent in the 29 years since the last new refinery opened in the United States in Garyville, La.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Department released its annual peek 20 years into the future. One conclusion: It's "unlikely that new refineries will be built in the United States."

Instead, the agency said, existing refineries will expand to produce another 5.5 million barrels per day of gasoline. That still will fall short of demand.

Foreign-made gas will bridge the gap. Imports of finished gasoline account for about 14 percent of the gas sold in the United States today, according to the Energy Department, and will represent more than 20 percent in 2025.

Incremental increases in output boost the amount of U.S.-refined gasoline, but all signs still point to a growing reliance on gas refined overseas.

"The prospect of energy independence for petroleum products is pretty much a mirage," said Robert Slaughter, the president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association in Washington. "The question is, 'Will we be able to keep our reliance down?' "