Sorry Marsh, but I had to edit my last post to provide "the rest of the story". Couldn't help myself and just had to add the end game, causation, exclamation point as further proof that oil prices are not the cause of the problem.
What happens when you have massive excess refining capacity and the ability to export as much as you desire? If diesel refining capacity is going off-line around the world, but you're China and still getting your needed oil from alternate sources, and you have a massive national stockpile to pull from, do you hold your cards tight and let the price climb ultra high before you start selling off your excess capacity. Do you think you'd tell your terrorist buddies to keep the disruption ramped up to the max? What if your biggest economic and geo-political foe has a huge election coming up in less than 60 days and the leaders, who are a thorn in your side, stand to lose that election because their constituents are a bunch of petulant children that dont understand the big picture. Yeah, I'd hold off on trying to help the rest of the world too.
