Shell’s Games at the Pumps – Crude Deceptions

If the gasoline currently flowing into your tank was drilled and refined months ago, why does the price at the pump skyrocket the second a headline hits the news? If the physical product is “old,” why is the price tag “new” each time the United States is in a global conflict?

The answer, the stock market:

Oil futures are the answer. The idea that oil might cost more in the future fuels speculation and drives up prices. The corporations that own the oil use these moments of international crisis to raise prices and maximize profits, both to secure the future of their investors and to make extra money off the public’s relative ignorance about the oil used in the United States. These corporate names include Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP, and others. 

While war profiteering is a crime, it is narrowly defined and likely doesn’t include oil speculation, so the prices we’re paying are not necessarily criminal even if you feel like you’re being robbed. However, being criminal and moral aren’t always the same thing.

You are being robbed at the pumps because you’re being deceived by why the costs continue to rise. The current war with Iran is not the reason you’re paying more at the pump; in fact, most of the oil we get in the United States is from the United States. In the United States, about 65% of our oil supply comes from domestic sources. A bit more than 20% of that remaining amount comes from other North American sources, primarily Canada and Mexico (more than 60% of the foreign oil the United States imports is from these two nations).

*Source U.S. Energy Information Administration (2024 – early 2026 data)

In short, the United States isn’t just a participant in the oil market; we dominate it.

Both the Federal and State governments have the option to temporarily suspend gas taxes. This would save consumers roughly 30-60¢ per gallon of gasoline at the pump; however, opponents call these suspensions or gas tax holidays just political foolery because oil companies could raise prices and pocket the money. Governments could also impose the “Windfall Profits” Tax on oil companies to force them to lower prices. Other ways that might help regulate current prices include the “Defense Production Act,” which the Trump administration has already used once in 2026 for offshore pipelines, and, of course, states would have some recourse against companies by pursuing state-level profiteering laws. 

All that said, it seems like as individuals the thing we can do to help with prices is walk more, ride our bicycles, plan out trips more carefully, make sure our tires have great air pressure to increase miles per gallon, drive more cautiously, ride the busses and trains, and hope that calmer heads prevail and this war that is an excuse to profiteer quickly comes to a resolution. Or, perhaps, we can just be thankful that, despite all of this, the United States still pays very little per gallon of gas compared to the rest of the world. 

If converted from euros per liter to dollars per gallon, this is what the rest of the world is paying at the moment:

*Sources Cargopedia and U.S. Energy Information Administration.

I’ll buy a new pair of walking shoes for the short term and try to remember that Amtrak goes through Niles, Michigan, towards the beach and Chicago several times a day, and to Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Detroit other times each day. I’ll also be thankful for the new, faster South Shore service from South Bend to Chicago, multiple times a day. 

Brian S. Collier, Ph.D.

Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, Collier is a graduate of South Bend public schools. Collier taught high school for four years before earning a Ph.D., then taught college in Arizona, Michigan, and Indiana. He is now again teaching high school locally.

Collier signed on to serve on the editorial board and as an occasional contributor to Redress, hoping to help provide a liberal perspective on issues in his hometown and the region. While local 'liberals' may not feel heard, Collier feels like both parties are so far from where they were when he was a child that they wouldn't possibly recognize their modern iterations.

Collier feels strongly that South Bend lacks actual leadership, shows cowardice, and prioritizes conveniences and business interests over citizen needs, and is a proxy for petty vendettas and a lack of real, sustainable policy. Collier fears for the future of St. Joseph County, Michiana, and America, and the very real chance that the American experiment ends during his lifetime due to partisan nonsense and the public's inability to even see other perspectives.