Nicole Lapin

So you might wonder, well, why the heck are gas prices going up if we produce our own oil?

But crude oil and gasoline are not the same thing.

Crude has to be refined before it becomes anything you can actually use.

And here's the problem.

The U.S.

produces a lot of light crude, but many of our Gulf Coast refineries were built to process the heavier crude from other countries.

They literally aren't designed for what we're pulling out of, say, the ground in Texas a la Landman.

Plus, oil is a globally priced commodity.

American consumers are fully exposed to global price swings no matter how much we produce at home.

There is no just use our own oil option.

Higher oil doesn't just translate into higher gas prices.

It also means shipping gets more expensive.

Travel gets more expensive.

Life gets more expensive.

The oil problem doesn't just affect prices.

It also affects the value of the dollar.

Sometimes in good ways, others not so much.

In the 70s, the U.S.

struck a deal with Saudi Arabia where oil would be priced and traded globally in U.S.

dollars.