[island911]

Originally posted by sammyg2
Warning, serious topic hyjack in progress:
newbe911 nailed it.
The quick rise and slow fall in prices at the pump are not controlled by the oil companies.
Speculators, wholesale distributors, and station owner/operators affect or set the retail price.
They see a large wholesale price spike coming (which is usually caused by and exaggerated by investment speculator's over-reaction to a temporary reduction in supply) and immediately crank the prices up a bunch. They are obviously reluctant to lower these prices because that would reduce their profits. They lower the prices only as much and as fast as they have to in order to be competitive enough to sell the gasoline. The longer the station owners keep the prices high the more money they make. Most stations are privately owned and operated franchises.

This subject is not something that you can deduce an accurate understanding of out of thin air, even though most of the uninformed public believes they can. We see people every day who rival Mel Gibson in conspiracy theory, but who have not bothered to spend 5 minutes researching the subject.
The details and information necessary to form an educated and accurate opinion are publicly available but only a small fraction of the self-proclaimed experts in this world actually do the homework necessary to fully understand the system prior to spouting an opinion.

How would this board react if I came here and started posting facts about the proper way to rebuild or hot-rod a 911 engine if I had never actually done it and had never done single bit of research to back up theories I pulled out of my butt? I would be roasted and flamed to no end. I don't see how that is any different than making unfounded and erronious accusations about the oil industry.

DISCLAIMER:
i am not currently employed by or have ties to the oil industry except that I spent 23 years working in the refining business and I am also heavily invested in that industry. I have spent most of those years studying the inner workings of the oil businesses which is partly why I am confident and sucessful in my investments and have been for decades. I may not a complete expert in the field but I am much better informed that most.