People will still watch gasoline because of maintenance and subsequent specification changes.

Basic maintenance and repairs have been made in subsequent decades. But upgrades necessary to keep it in top condition were deferred, in part from a rate freeze that was in effect for years.

The panic surrounding gasoline is pushing crude higher. The specification issues are starting to permeate the market. The distribution of ethanol is going to be a big problem.

Gasoline price changes are lagging behind those of crude, and there's more catching up to do,

There isn't the spare capacity to make up for the missing production in the Gulf of Mexico. OPEC used to have 4 to 5 million barrels of spare capacity. That's down to about 1.5 million barrels a day this year.

It doesn't matter that the government opens the strategic reserves because there is very little slack in the refining business.