Yes, but it went back down under $2 when the Saudis flooded the market a couple years back. It was artificially low. The price of oil per barrel is probably about where it should be, given growth/demand. If we can make the proper upgrades to our refineries, it'll come back down. Right now, they're set up to process more heavy crude from overseas. Our domestic oil has a different chemical makeup.
If you are thinking high sulfur Venezuelan crude, maybe so, but the Canadian crude is low gravity also.
We get more imported oil from Canada than anywhere else. The Saudis were trying to shut down the Bakken and other unconventional plays by lowering the price. It did slow things down a little, but all that did was increase the push for efficiency, and the Saudis could not continue to sustain their revenue losses in the face of losing the reserve capacity to affect price. They ultimately hurt themselves. Note, too, that no sooner did the price drop, many jurisdictions sought to increase taxes, which are 10% or more of gasoline prices at the pump most places.
