Gasoline Expected to Rise to $5.00 to $6.00 a gallon

[Old Rocks]

We're NOT exporting nearly as much refined fuel as crude oil.
Normally it is not cost efficient to refine here. So we export oil and buy gasoline on the world market.
The oil companies can get a better price by doing this.
As the market price falls, it becomes more profitable to make gas and diesel HERE and sell it HERE.
If you want to pay more for fuel, go ahead. I have a business to run and need to keep my costs down.

Ever consider doing a little research before flapping yap?

#1 U.S. export? Gasoline, diesel & jet fuel, believe it or not. #rsrh | Maley's Energy Blog

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time, the top export of the United States, the world’s biggest gas guzzler, is — wait for it — fuel.

Measured in dollars, the nation is on pace this year to ship more gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel than any other single export, according to U.S. Census data going back to 1990. It will also be the first year in more than 60 that America has been a net exporter of these fuels.

Just how big of a shift is this? A decade ago, fuel wasn’t even among the top 25 exports. And for the last five years, America’s top export was aircraft.

The trend is significant because for decades the U.S. has relied on huge imports of fuel from Europe in order to meet demand. It only reinforced the image of America as an energy hog. And up until a few years ago, whenever gasoline prices climbed, there were complaints in Congress that U.S. refiners were not growing quickly enough to satisfy domestic demand; that controversy would appear to be over.

Not according to this article. As of this writing the US exported a few hundred thousand more barrels per day than it imported.
The focal point here is the NET import/export.
It still is not cost effective for US oil producers to refine gasoline in this country.
Case and point. Sunoco had a refinery in suburban Philadelphia that because the company could not find a buyer closed the facility and thus shortened our refining capacity by 175kbpd AND Conoco closed another facility in the same area the cost the US 187kbpd....
So if gasoline production is so lucrative, why then are refineries being shut down?
Ok. I get it. You and ONLY you have all the answers.
Oh, here's the link....
Janet McGurty | Journalist Profile | Reuters.com

Janet McGurty | Journalist Profile | Reuters.com

Removed from the region’s operable baseline capacity were: Sunoco’s 178,000 bpd Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania refinery, ConocoPhillips’ 187,000 bpd Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery and the 64,000 bpd Yorktown, Virginia refinery, which Western Refining sold to Plains All American and is currently in use as terminal to store oil products.

All three refineries had been idled by the end of 2011.

Gas Pains? U.S. Diesel, Gas Exports Surpass Imports : NPR

To be clear, we're talking about finished petroleum products, not crude oil. The U.S. still imports about half the crude it consumes.

Refineries are touting this new export statistic — after all, gasoline and diesel are manufactured products. They say a boost in exports keeps more manufacturing jobs in the U.S. But one reason exports are increasing is that demand for gas in this country is declining.

People like Rachel Ezekiel-Fishbein of Elkins Park, Pa., are choosing to drive more efficient cars and consuming less gas. She stopped driving a Honda Odyssey minivan that gets about 14 miles per gallon in the city. Now, she drives a red Prius hybrid that's getting about 40 mpg.

In the process, Ezekiel-Fishbein is saving more than $2,000 a year and buying 700 fewer gallons of gasoline. And she's not alone. Department of Energy statistics show Americans are using less gasoline these days. Consumption peaked in 2007 and has been declining since.

"It's sort of an obvious choice," says Ezekiel-Fishbein. "It's better for the Earth ... It's better for your budget, you're teaching your kids good values. What's the downside to this choice?"

The downside falls to refineries. As it happens, while demand was declining, refineries were becoming more efficient, actually boosting their production. It's basic economics: Declining demand plus increasing production is not a winning formula.

Now the country stands to lose some refineries. Sunoco and ConocoPhillips have announced that three refineries on the outskirts of Philadelphia will shut down if the companies can't find buyers. That could put an estimated 2,600 people out of work

So refined petroleum products have become our biggest single export, even while we are shutting down refineries. I would have to say that indicates more than adaquete refinery capacity.