Oil refiners produce 19.65 gals of gasoline, 10.03 gals of fuel oil and 4.07 gals of jet fuel from a 42 gallon barrel of oil. The rest of the barrel (8.25 gals) is sold to make some 6,000 other products. Refiners costs to refine a barrel of oil is roughly $14.00 excluding taxes.
One year ago the refiners paid $95.00 for a barrel of oil plus $14.00 refining cost or $109.00.
Today refiners pay $48.00 for a barrel of oil plus $14.00 refining cost or $62.00. That’s a 43% savings for refiners.
One year ago we paid $3.45 per gallon of gasoline at the pump.
Remember back in the early 1980s when oil was $20 a barrel and pump prices were $1.05. Ironically, refining costs were 150% higher back then.
A 43% savings would put today’s price of gas at the pump at $1.97 gal. I’m paying $2.55 a gallon. I wonder where that 55 cents went? How did the refiners make $375,000,000.00 a year disappear?