Originally Posted by
scambo1
In the long run, you may be right. Oil for the past 4+ years has been a vehicle for speculation (gambling) due to etf's.
My take; the refinery pays for itself in 1 year - after that it doesn't matter.
It is another form of vertical integration. It is no different than paying a lawn service $1000/year to mow your grass, then going out to buy your own push mower for $300 and doing it yourself.
Long term, the refinery was a very smart move. Takes some volatility out of our 12 Bln dollar expense. I just wish we would have kept all of the product to sell, but understand the arrangement de-risks it.
Maybe they will buy another one in a different part of the country.