> he could get the crude oil out for ballpark $3 a barrel Regarding this point, yes. There are many privately owned wells that could extract oil cheaply - if t

> he could get the crude oil out for ballpark $3 a barrel Regarding this point, yes. There are many privately owned wells that could extract oil cheaply - if they wanted to! [Thank goodness] that's not the kind of system we live in though, and these well owners try to time their extraction to take advantage of highs in the price of oil on the global market. This podcast [0] follows oil from ground to gas, and it was enlightening to see the well operators' thought process. 0. http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/08/26/491342091/planet-money-buys-oil http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/08/26/491342091/plane...