Those are their reasons for why its delayed.

The main issues with refineries are location (cheap land for a huge installation), location (relatively unpopulated area is needed for many reasons), location (access to major transportation outlets) and location (relative proximity to major use centers). Oil companies already have a number of installations at numerous locations across the US (BTW, have you ever seen a major refinery? Its an immense operation covering square miles of land, with its on railheads, railyards and practically its own Interstate Highway spur). They could easily increase refinery capacity by upgrading in place with newer and better equipment and handle higher volumes of throughput.

They do this already to some degree, but for the most part they don't. Existing refineries, like those in Oklahoma, have even gone though downsizing IIRC since the magic date of '1981' (you know, the date supposedly at which environmental 'loons' made it impossible to 'build new refineries').

Why has US refineries been in decline? he same reason US manufacturing has been in decline- everything is cheaper to buy in bulk, especially people, elsewhere. Most of the 'big steel' used in refineries is made elsewhere anyway. Why locate the refineries in the 'boonies' of america anyway?

I don't have the numbers, but I bet if I dug them up you would see refineries in other NAFTA countries are going gang busters.

The basic message is don't be a sucker. Would no environmental laws make it cheaper to operate refineries in the US? Sure. Would it cause a boom in refinery construction? Probably not. It might allow for a couple to be constructed, and it would certainly allow for looser operating conditions at existing US refineries- but we know what the price is for that, don't we? Refining is like the manufacturing of any commodity good like steel- a high volume, high infrastructure, high labor process with margins so low that profitable operation requires immense volumes and throughput. All such industries are pretty much dead in the US, why should refining be any different?

For me, and from what I've read, it seems more like just another case of Business making an alliance with politicians and the taxpayer footing the bill for their own destruction. Just like other industries, the response of industry and the most staunch political allies of business has been to point the blaming finger also at the taxpayer. With some industries, the 'environmental' issue is raised. With other industries its the 'lawsuit' and with others its 'you damn lazy bastards want to be paid too much and wont work 80 hour weeks!'.

Same song, different verse, as fr as I'm concerned.

Its cheaper to refine elsewhere. All the heavy industries that support refining are elsewhere. Some other country doesn't care if a bunch of poor workers die hideous deaths, and their wretched little towns are decimated by pollution. Some other contry does not care if there is a brownfield a few square kilometers in size that will never be cleaned up. Some other workers will take dimes on the dollar to what the US worker will take, and be happy for it. Thus, the industry goes elsewhere.

Yeti