Refining Information = Disinformation

The right wing mantra about refineries is a farce, of course, like most of their pronouncements. As I have pointed out previously, Shell for one has bought up refineries and shut them down.

In April 2007, a little information leaked out. I found it in an excellent comment at Watching the Watchers, that stated; That added production from new leases on the OCS would bring short term relief from high gas prices is a claim that McCain explicitly made just last week, saying that opening up drilling in the OCS "would be very helpful in the short term in resolving our energy crisis."

The part about "short term" gas price relief is patently ridiculous as many commentators have pointed out.

The information about refineries was taken from CNN, and follows.

"Everyone is quick to say "look at these refiners, they're driving up the price,'" said Phil Flynn Flynn, senior market analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago. "But if I wanted to build a refinery tomorrow, I couldn't do it."

And then there's the public's newfound concern over global warming and its supposed commitment to do something about it. President Bush himself has called for a 20 percent reduction in gasoline use over the next 10 years.

"What refining executive in their right fiscal mind would say, gee, we need to add refining capacity right now," said Drevna at the refiners' association.

While refinery capacity may not be growing as fast as demand, it is growing.

For example, Drevna noted that expansion projects at the nation's existing refineries have had the effect of adding the equivalent of a brand new refinery every year. That increase came despite mandates for cleaner gasoline and diesel fuel, which take longer to make.

And the future looks even brighter.

"There is a tremendous amount of expansion," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, speaking of projects at existing facilities. "We will have a solid increase in North American refining capacity, but not for another two years."

Kloza said much of the expansion would come along the Gulf of Mexico and in the Midwest, an ideal spot to process heavy crude from Canada's emerging oil sand deposits.

The only place that might not see more capacity is the West Coast, said Kloza, where there is little refinery expansion planned, leaving the region more dependent on expensive imports.
Energy companies prominent in Fortune 500

Overseas expansion is moving even more quickly, with $300 billion slated for refining projects over the next 20 years in places like India, the Caribbean, Mexico, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

"I think there'll be a concern that the world added too much capacity and refining will go in the dumpster again," said Kloza.

Much of the international capacity will feed surging demand in the developed world. But some will also supply the United States and Europe.

"Partly what's going on here is part of a broader trend in manufacturing, and that is the movement of it offshore," said AAA's Sundstrom. "With it go environmental issues, tax structure, legal liabilities."

The misrepresentations the right wing keeps persistently using have the purpose of undermining the public interest, and their use of it is with full knowledge that it is wrong.

The selling of our lands to oil companies has not one good reason except that the administration depends on oil revenues for their livelihood.

I do believe that if the war criminals invested in solar energy, they would be trying to put it out to make their assets more valuable.