Looks like there are 3 stations in Tuscon that sell E85, but I'm guessing you aren't going to drive that far.

Especially since E85 isn't really any cheaper, nor is it much more fuel efficient. It is just cleaner when it burns.

LSPoorEyorick: Why would it be illegal?

Aren't they gouging us?

And you can call me Heidi, btw. Or LSPE. Nobody's called me LSPoorEeyorick in... has anybody ever called me LSPoorEeyorick? This is where I would use a smilie if I was trying to annoy you. (But I don't use emoticons.)

Not at a 9 cent/gallon profit they aren't.

So the record profits from the fourth quarter of last year are from some sort of weird non-summer driving spike by Americans and the time-proximity to Hurricane Katrina is merely a coincidence?

Depends on how you define gouging.

So long as they aren't lying about the total supply of oil or somehow committing fraud to get people to buy their product (an eternally asked question which so far hasn't produced much in the way of evidence) then I would say they aren't. But by other definitions they are simply for having crossed some threshhold of "making too much money." The former is generally illegal and the latter is generally not.

For the most part, oil is sold on an open market. What is BP supposed to do, say "oh no, we can't possibly take the $75 you're willing to pay for a barrel of oil, how about $45"? The price of taking oil out of the ground hasn't really changed (and the amount of oil coming out of the ground hasn't really changed) but the amount of oil people want keeps increasing. What happens to price in that situation is pretty predictable. Add to that people trying to stockpile oil since they fear future supply may be interrupted and you get even higher prices.

Still comes out to about 9 cents/gallon of gas.

If anyone thinks that is unreasonable I'd like to know why.

So the profits they are reaping are from the sheer volume of gas sold?

That isn't the only area they get profits from, of course, just the one most directly affecting the average US citizen and the price of that gasoline is the cause of the complaints. There are statistics about how much of a barrell of oil is used for gas, motor oil, petroleum products, whatever. Gas is just one piece.

True, and you have to figure in time it takes from ground to market. If the price goes up you've made a profit on all that you have, regardless of the price when you got it out of the ground. The 30 gallons in your truck is increasing in value every day.

Just in case anyone cares to read it, here is the article.

And, just to clarify, every second Exxon makes a profit that is the price equivalent of the amount of gas used to drive a Hummer H3 between NY and LA three times. :)