One lesson learned is that the big bad oil companies do not control the prices as so many have suggested.
If they did, they would not have allowed gas to get this cheap.
They have been losing money on every gallon produced lately. In So Cal that is starting to turn around because of a few breakdowns and because the BP refinery shut down it's fluid catalytic cracking unit for it's scheduled overhaul (usually about every 5 years).
Hopefully gas will climb back above $2 a gallon. If it doesn't refineries will start dieing.
Flying J filed for bankruptcy last week.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11288757
If many more follow, there won't be enough capacity left when the economy turns around and we'll really be in trouble.