Conspiracy theorists, exactly how have the American oil companies colluded to soak the American consumer?

Question

Have they refused to build oil refineries and drill offshore and elsewhere because they knew the demand for oil would make them rich? Or could there be another explanation for why these things have happened?

Answer 1

They've refused to build oil refineries and drill offshore because there isn't any need to do so. 'Big OIL' has reaped record profits during the Bush administration's reign without having to make large investments in new facilities or domestic explorations.

Consider this scenario:

George W. Bush was 'selected' as our President for three really lame reasons:

1. He was charged with 'getting even' with Saddam Hussein for humiliating George H.W. Bush during Operation Desert Storm;

2. d**k Cheney and his war-mongering friends coveted all that OIL swimming underneath Iraq's sands;

3. The giant U.S. military-industrial complex [which Eisenhower warned us about] needed to boost sagging profits from too many years of relative peace.

The OIL companies had bailed George W. Bush out of one failed business venture after another over the years. Now, with this dim-witted simpleton installed as President, they would get their 'payback' by being allowed to fix prices, gouge customers and manipulate the market without complaint from a compliant administration headed by two former OIL executives.'Big OIL' has no achieved the profit margins they projected, and there's no way American motorists will ever see gasoline prices decrease significantly again.

Bush's #1 non-military 'benchmark' in Iraq insists that the new Iraqi Parliament surrender two-thirds of its OIL fields to foreign OIL corporations, which means that companies like Exxon-Mobil can now virtually STEAL most of Iraq's most valuable economic resource.

'Big OIL' will use a minute portion of their massive profits to squeeze the 'little guys' out of the alternative fuels business, accomplishing two things: keeping American motorists addicted to OIL until they can find ways to make alternative energy programs as profitable as OIL has been for them.

It's collusion between corporate special interests and government at its very worst. It's a capitalist abomination.    -RKO-    08/10/08

Answer 2

The answer is enough of them to drive up oil prices.  From what I've heard they started closing down refineries years ago.  If this is true, why did they do it?

Answer 3

They didn't build refineries and drill offshore because it was unpopular with the consomers--the U.S. Also the consumers did not want nuclear for the past 30 years. They oil companies didn't need do anything. The federal and state governments backed by the voters caused the problems.