[Sixcar]

Understanding all the forces that drive gasoline prices is key to understanding the current state of affairs of the oil industry.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The company I worked for in 1993 spent $260 million to make the new on-road .05 percent diesel. Think about that; $260 million just to stay in a business they were already in.

[Dog Gone]

Refineries have been a lousy business investment over the years. The return on investment has averaged 6% or less, and there have been many times when they've lost money, essentially selling gasoline for less than what it costs to refine it.

[TexasCowboy]

You're dead on in your assessment of the negative impact of environmental regulations on the price of gasoline; however, I think after all factors are considered you will find that the biggest impetus for higher prices comes from the vendors themselves.

Traveling across the country there is a wide disparity in the price per gallon.
Remembering that this is all the same gasoline with only the additives being different, it's not logical that one vendor can charge .$20 less per gallon than a vendor fifty miles down the road.
Rather than boycott certain oil company service stations the proper way to protest this gouging is to boycott those vendors who are using the oil scarcity myth to elevate their profits to an unreasonable amount.

[o_zarkman44]

Ethanol blend is an answer. Low emissions bio fuels should have replaced the oil companys toxic version of oxygenated additives years ago. If 10% ethanol is added to every gallon of gas, we have already cut our dependence by 10% with a domesticaly produced, non toxic fuel that actually enhances the octane rating of regular gas by 2 points or more.

10% ethanol blend also reduces refining capacity demands.
And the myths about ethanol blends damaging your engine are generated by the oil companys to discourage patronizing the competition. I have used ethanol blend gas for years and never had an engine failure. So have millions of other motorists.

[River_Wrangler]

"The National Energy Policy has advised the President to direct the EPA to work with congress to provide regulatory certainty to allow the industry to make modifications to their refineries without fear of new litigation, and to streamline the permitting process to limit regulatory overlap."

I worked in the high tech sector of the environmental remediation industry for 20 years. The reason that we could not present technical solutions to the environmental problems facing industry was regulations that changed so fast we could not recoup our investment. This is also true of the refining industry. Rules that change year to year don't provide for capital changes in equipment that becomes obsolete before it is in use. These cost are passed on to the consumer as are all waste in commerce.