Gas Prices

Spoken like a "true" ?? 

Made note of this long ago.  Grandfather's BOTH were oil refinery workers, cost per barrel of crude is relegated to 1 cost of drilling, 2 cost of withdrawal/extraction from well head, amount of resource against the above expense.  Saudi Arabia has low cost to drill or extract(Sand soil relative close level to grade of supply) US or Canada is drilling deep pockets and hard to extract zones so expense is higher.  

Next is type material, Sweet Crude has a High Volatiles level(Naphtha and stable solvent distillates) heavy crude or Bunker crudes require special Catalytic Reduction and Reformulation to produce Fuel distillates where those tend to be unstable(Sour easily) thus requires more time in a refining process and more chemical transitions also expensive.  Refining uses some materials as fuel to perform the process as such loss of volume affects end pricing.  

Refiners do not get rich, they pay back against given initial expenses to share holders, refineries get repairs made and profits are as volatile as the products.

A 42 gallon oil field barrel nets close to 25 gallons of lubricant products, are several gallons of Light Gaseous volatiles as Propane and Butane, use at least two gallons of crude to produce the refined products and ends with residuals as fuel oils and solvents as a 'Free Product' in a 10-15 gallon net, gas and diesel have generally been left overs that had no cost during the pre 1960s decades, costs were in storage and dispersal as to why gas and Diesel were so cheap, end product of gallons of dirty unresolvable oil solids(Bunker asphalt) is a remnant. a average oil field barrel yields MORE end product than went into the towers by these processes.  This from my grandfather that ran the towers in the 1930s to 1950s by hand operation until electronic controls occurred.

And they still have Flares that burn off those unstable Light Ends volatiles they cannot recover as the process runs.

Do the math on Lubricants pricing.  20-25 Gallons per barrel, motor oils from $8-$15/gallon  Only 3.5 qts in 4 Grease Gun Cartridges at $3-$5 EACH(over $15/gal), heavy oils can be $8-$20/gallon.  A Oil Field Barrel delivered at $100/barrel can deliver from $200-$300 worth of Lubricants, FIRST and Foremost.