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After spending over seventy three dollars to fill my tank on the way into the office today my immediate knee jerk reaction would be to say absolutely yes, we should boycott big oil companies. After a moment of pause and contemplation though I'm forced to consider what that would really mean. The oil industry in the United States is far more complicated than the average consumer is lead to believe. From the consumer level we see numerous branded oil companies in the form of our local filling stations and assume they are an accurate representation of the oil industry. This impression couldn't be further from the truth.

In reality our fuel is supplied by about three major players, then divided, sold and resold between everyone else. Even our filling stations that leave us with the impression of dealing with the "little guy" is a misconception. Perceived small oil companies such as Valero and Luk Oil are in fact wholly owned or supplied by the likes of the evil oil magnates such as Exxon Mobile. So when you pull into your local filling station and talk to your familiar petroleum distribution engineer thinking he's just a regular guy, keep in mind he's actually working for the big oil companies, even if he doesn't know it himself.

The concept of boycotting any oil company is a lofty and noble idea, even though it is a bit nave. The impact that we would have on boycotting all of the Exxon stations for instance would be so insignificant to the bottom line of the oil company itself as to be laughable. They are supplying every other gas station within the same five mile radius that you would use, since you still need to put gas in your car regardless of which you are boycotting, as a result the big oil company doesn't suffer at all. You are still purchasing their fuel, even though it's being sold under a different name. Those who suffer are the unfortunate independent gas station owners who run those Exxon's that you are boycotting.

As difficult as it may be for most people to believe, your local gas station owner is suffering as much as the consumer is. The profit margin on a gallon of gas for the filling station is measured in pennies. When the prices go up at the pumps that's a direct reflection of the price increase incurred by the owner of the filling station who has to purchase his supply from the big oil companies. Just because the pump prices goes up twelve cents in a week doesn't mean the station owner is making any more money. In

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