It would be a smart move if other countries started refining gas for export to the U.S..

[pwb]

Why not?, since our refiners are exporting gas and shutting down refineries for no reason. It just seems to me other countries should step in and give our greedy refiners some competition.
If we are in a so called world economy countries like, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Russia, Venezuela, should offer refined products in the U.S.
Competition is a good thing right Pukes?. Oh wait, that would not be good for you Republicans, your big Oil friends would not like that would they?.
Wake up world start refining oil. There is big money to be made.

[dewawi]

1. Billionaires Buy Gasoline Ships as Fuel Cargoes Expand: Freight

The U.S. exported 60,385 barrels a day more refined products than it imported in 2011, the first net sales since at least 2001, Energy Department data show. Five years earlier, net imports averaged 2.3 million barrels a day. Drilling expansion under the Bush administration greatly increased the supply of oil in the United States. While demand for seaborne gasoline, diesel and other products is expanding to a record, it still won’t be enough to eliminate the glut of ships. Cargoes of refined products that will reach 99.9 million deadweight tons will be met with vessel supply of 114.2 million, Clarkson’s forecasts show. Deadweight tonnage is a measure of carrying capacity, and the estimates include all types of product tankers.
Shipping companies will still lose money. Scorpio (STNG) Tankers Inc., the owner of 12 products vessels, will narrow its net loss to $13.6 million this year from $82.7 million in 2011, the mean of four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows.

http://webfarm.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-06/billionaires-buying-gasoline-tankers-as-fuel-demand-accelerates-freight.html

[bluestate10]

2. Americans still pay among the lowest free market gasoline prices in the world.

The only places that are cheaper have goverment subsidies holding down the price the citizens pay. Newt claims that he will deliver $2.50 per gallon gasoline, the problem is he doesn't have a clue of how.

[Ikonoklast]

3. Uhh...we've been importing refined petroleum products for years now.

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WGTIMUS2&f=W

[banned from Kos]

4. A modern high-capicity refinery cost about $5 billion to build

there are not many takers at that price.

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. You ARE aware...

that that gasoline being refined and exported comes from oil that was IMPORTED into the US in the first place, yes? And the only reason gasoline is being exported is because demand has declined due to increased fuel efficiency. There's no reason for any country to export refined product to the US when the demand for it isn't there. If the demand were there the US wouldn't be exporting six hundred thousand barrels of gasoline a day.

[happyslug]

6. So what, US IMPORTS of Oil is still sky high, it is only refined oil we are exporting.

The US imported in 2009 the following (in barrels)):
Gasoline..Jet Fuel...Kerosene...Distillate...Residual..Liquefied...Other....Total
............................................Fuel Oil.....Fuel Oil...Petroleum...Products
........................................................................Gases
223,386...80,789....3,132.....225,129...331,332..182,164..208,759..1,254,690

http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=5&pid=alltypes&aid=3&cid=regions&syid=2005&eyid=2009&unit=TBPD

Total CRUDE oil imports were 9,012,808 barrels of Crude oil,
http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=5&pid=57&aid=3&cid=regions&syid=2005&eyid=2009&unit=TBPD

i.e. For every barrel of REFINED oil we imported we imported over 7 barrels of crude. (9012808/1,254.690=7.18 plus barrels of oil). What we IMPORT in the form of refined oil products is just under 14% of total CRUDE oil we IMPORT. In 2011 we finally exported more REFINED Gasoline then we imported, that still leaves a HUGE amount of refined oil products we IMPORTED AND an even large amount of CRUDE oil we imported.

Thus NO matter how much refined oil we EXPORT, it is MINOR compared to what we IMPORT.