In 2011, even with U.S. energy consumption declining in response to the recession and rising fuel prices, energy prices continue to rise with worldwide consumption, largely as a result of more consumption in developing nations.

It's not just OPEC that is pushing petroleum prices higher than U.S. consumers' tastes. Some prices are pushed up at the refinery. Although refineries lost some profits in 2010, in 2011, following the 2010 lull, refinery profits began rising largely from processing the cheaper crude, according to Steve Everly in "Oil Refiners' Profits Bring Pain At the Pump". In addition, U.S. exports of gas have continued to rise, helping to keep U.S. inventories down and prices up. Likewise in 2007, just before the recession's crunch, refinery profits peaked. Today's too-high fuel prices might bring on more recession, according to some economists.

Hope for Infinite Reserves

One hope is that the crude oil available for pumping is, well infinite, that there is more crude than can be measured. Imagine pumping "abiotic" oil formed from non-living things, say, magma, in a deep well, perhaps on Sakhalin Island, the former penal colony that's dotted with reindeer, drilling platforms, and earthquakes, where current wells extend seven miles out to sea and seven miles deep. The oil keeps flowing. However most scientists think that all components of the earth, including oil, are finite.