Does anyone else think there's something wrong with the gas prices in Jordan picture?

So normally don't think too much about this stuff. Gas prices have gone up and I whine (like everyone else) about how high they are. But, really, I don't put much though into it. And then, something triggers me. In this case, it was a conversation on a message board about gas prices in the US. So, for those here who don't know, gas prices n the US vary WIDELY. They vary in the same town (people drive around town the get the best price), they vary on the same street, but mostly they vary by locale. So, in Iowa, which is the middle of absolutely nowhere, gas is hugely expensive. The reasoning behind this is that gas has to be trucked in from a coast ad it's a LONG way from the coast. As a result, when we lived there, we paid more for gas than people who lived in such high-cost mavens as LA and New York City.

On this board, the ladies were complaining about how high gas prices were in their locations. So, I decided to see how we were faring against the US. After doing the gallons/liters conversion and then the dollars/dinars conversation, guess what I found? Jordan's gas prices were as high as the really high-cost areas. So then I started to think... (I assure you, this is dangerous even in the best of times). In Jordan, we have what should be the benefit of being right next door to the major oil producing nations. So, transport charges shouldn't be very high, right? I mean, given the number of UAE cars in town each summer, clearly it's dirt cheap to ship stuff...

So, the cost isn't in getting the oil to Jordan. Is it in the production from crude to gasoline? Perhaps, but at these prices, Jordan's refinery should be posting HUGE profits, beyond even those touted by the large American companies making billions per quarter on gas. It's seems to me that something's broken in the system. If the gas tax is that high, where is all of the money going? Seems like that kind would be able to bring Jordan's finances into great shape. After all, the government is removing subsidies, but does that mean they're increasing taxes? This is just one woman's curiosity, but how is it that we pay as much (if not more) for gasoline than people half-way around the world? Any thoughts?

Happy curiosity!