Urban Legend about Gas, OPEC, etc

KCBagHead said
I got this from a friend on email...it looked flaky -- there is a similar plea on snopes, but not this exact one.

Not only does this plan make sense, but I’ve added more info on Oil Companies at the bottom of this email. Exxon and Mobil are only two of the major oil companies that purchase some of their oil from the Middle East. It wouldn’t hurt to quit buying from any oil company that buys oil from OPEC. The list of companies that buy ZERO barrels from OPEC are at the bottom of this email. Conoco might be a choice since it is American owned and only does business in Saudi Arabia as a partner with Phillips in the chemicals industry and in Quatar as a partner with Phillips in natural gas production.

Your initial assessment of flakiness was correct. Whoever wrote it had no understanding of oil markets or how stations set prices.

Ignoring the futility of such a plan, most of the companies you mentioned do import or utilize OPEC oil. As others have noted, even if a company doesn't import OPEC oil they might still source gasoline from it. Evil Company A would simply sell product to Good Company B if email forwards had any impact.

The only true way to make a tiny difference is by consuming less no matter the day or retailer.