This may seem like a silly question, but are oil companies paying the market price for a barrel of oil? If Southwest Airlines is utilizing futures contracts as a hedge against higher oil costs, I would presume that the oil companies are doing the same thing. Since the US is importing most of its oil, isn't it reasonable that Exxon would locked in a lower price for oil with a futures contract and subsequently sold the oil at the prevailing price? It would seem that the high price of oil has less to do with increased demand and more to do with the weak dollar and speculation. The demand for gasoline in the US has actually been reduced, but the price isn't going down. Maybe the futures market should be extended to the end user consumer.