Calvin & Hobbes, $15/glass lemonade

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Oil's market is International

"The oil is drilled right here in Alaska, and yet we're paying $8 a gallon? Something is amiss here. The oil companies are making billions of dollars, and people here can't afford to eat," said Pat Samson, social services director for the Assn. of Village Council Presidents in Bethel, about 35 miles southwest of Tuluksak. [Source: In rural Alaska, villagers suffer in near silence]

The plight of Alaskan rural residents further evidenced the maxim that the market for oil is International. Having the oil being pumped nearby does not convey any special previlege to residents living in the area. It does not shield the residents from having to lock in prices in Summer, and they cannot prevent the oil from leaving their area.

In fact, why should the oil companies have to prioritise local residents? The residents are poor and their demands, compared to the international market, are immaterial. Setting up, no, even thinking about setting up to serve local residents would cost more than simply throwing the oil  to the international market.