00:00The US produced more oil last year
00:02than any country in history.
00:04So why is gas still over $4?
00:06Well, here's what's happening.
00:07The US pumped a record 13.6 million barrels a day in 2025.
00:12It broke the previous world record,
00:14which the US also set in 2024.
00:17But no single person or country sets the price of oil.
00:20It's bought and sold all day by refiners and traders,
00:23so the price is whatever they agree on that morning.
00:25The biggest influence is a group
00:26of oil-producing countries called OPEC+,
00:29which can nudge the price by producing more or less,
00:32but can't declare what the price will be,
00:34and neither can the US.
00:36A refinery fire in Texas, a war overseas,
00:39a country stockpiling supplies,
00:41all of that moves the price as well.
00:43Then refining also costs money,
00:45federal and state taxes get added,
00:47and some states like California require special blends
00:50that cost even more to make.
00:52That's why Indiana averages $3.60,
00:54and California averages $5.37 in the same week.
00:59AAA had the national average at $3.14 in late July last year.
01:04It's $4.09 now,
01:06all while US production set a record
01:08over that same stretch of time.
01:10So the amount we drill was never really
01:12what set your price at the pump.
01:13A gallon of gas is separated into four separate costs,
01:17and only one of them is crude oil.
01:19Have you been blaming the wrong thing every time gas goes up?
01:21Let us know in the comments.
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