However, the record shows - supported by documents I have obtained - that there is more to the story. Specifically, the documents suggest that major oil companies pursued efforts to curtail refinery capaity as a strategy for improving profit margins; that competing oil companies worked together to subvert supply; that refinery closures inhibited supply; and that oil companies are repeating record profits, yet benefit from a proposed national energy policy that would offer financial incentives to expand refinery capacity.
http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:q76P7ZDKtAEJ:wyden... That is fact. The oil companies say: Well, the problem is we do not have enough refineries. If we had more, then we would have more product and we might have a smaller spread and we would not be. Let me tell you what: Today, the refineries in America are operating at 85 percent of capacity. Do not buy this argument that it is about refineries. They have more capacity. They are holding back so they can keep their product dear and limited and short, and so the consumers will ultimately pay more.
http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=2969...