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I don't think the number of refineries is really a big issue. The oil companies seem to prefer consolidating and expanding the ones they have, rather than building new ones. They need to be located near ports or piplines, so building one on an Air Force base in North Dakota doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense. There's a refinery complex near here in Lockport. and many of the smaller operators within it have shutdown and are abandoned, so there's plenty of room and infrastructure for the 2 majors that are left to expand production. Another part of the refining problem is the 20+ variations of mandated 'clean-burning' fuels, many of which are based on patents held by Union Oil and require royalty payments. <br /> <br />From a long-term strategic point of view, it makes more sense to pump the middle east dry while keeping our reserves in the ground for the future, especially since right now oil is an international business. I think the real reason we're in Iraq and staying cozy with the Saudi's is fear the middle east will say screw the west and cut a seperate deal with China and Russia. I doubt the Navy uses enough oil to even make a dent, but oil for heating homes could be easily replaced by natural gas or electricity. Natural gas would be more plentiful if the utilities would stop burning it to make electriciy and used coal & nuclear instead.
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