Originally posted by Zoom Zoom Diva:
Given the unprecedented & record breaking profits of the oil companies in the last few years, its hard to imagine why any oil company would WANT to build new refineries.

A petroleum refinery is one of the most capital-intensive pieces of real-estate one can sink money into; doubly so that the EPA has impossibly strict mandates that have inflated the costs of building these facilities to an astronomical level...

Combine this with what could potentially be a decade-long ROI, many companies can easily find better investments. Finally, old refineries cost 1/4 to 1/2 to buy and re-tool to whatever needs to be produced.


Originally posted by Zoom Zoom Diva:
If government is preventing a new player from coming into the game, they should then require new refineries to be built.

I feel like shooting myself for saying it, but the conditions that exist in the open market today may require that some level of govt. subsidies take hold to remedy the situation.

The big question I have is why certain upstarts have NOT run into 3rd world countries that are relatively stable, have lax environmental controls and try to set up shop there...

JaTo e-Tough Guy Missouri City, TX 99 Contour SVT #143/2760 00 Corvette Coupe