GasHole (2010) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The documentary presents the claim but does not verify it. The film describes a 1946 Buick Roadmaster allegedly achieving 100 miles per gallon using a water-injection technique that humidifies gasoline and increases pressure. Shell Oil reportedly declined to address questions about this concept. The documentary leaves the authenticity unresolved, treating it as one of several extraordinary fuel economy claims explored throughout the film.

• water-injected engine
• 100 mpg
• Buick Roadmaster
• Shell Oil
• fuel economy claim

Tom Ogle was featured in a May 1, 1977 El Paso Times front-page story titled '200 Miles on 2 Gallons of Gas' for claiming extraordinary fuel efficiency. According to the documentary, Ogle was later found dead in the desert and his car disappeared. The film presents these facts without explaining the circumstances of his death or the car's whereabouts, leaving his story as an unsolved element of the broader investigation into fuel economy claims.

• Tom Ogle
• El Paso Times
• desert death
• high mileage car
• fuel economy

During the post-Hurricane Katrina energy hearings, a committee chairman decided not to compel CEOs of major oil companies to testify under oath. The documentary shows a congressman questioning whether oil companies might be taking advantage of the price surge, but the chairman ultimately declined to force executive testimony. This decision illustrates the tension between congressional oversight efforts and industry power, a recurring theme throughout the film's examination of political accountability.

• Congress
• oil CEOs
• testify
• energy hearings
• accountability

According to the documentary, oil companies have contributed approximately $49 million to Democrats and about $150 million to Republicans since 1990. This funding pattern is presented as context for understanding the political dynamics surrounding energy policy debates. The film uses these figures to illustrate how financial influence shapes decision-making as gasoline prices climbed from around $1.47 per gallon in 2001 to approximately $3.12 by mid-2007.

• oil company donations
• Democrats
• Republicans
• campaign finance
• political influence

On November 10, 2005, Chevron issued a statement warning that without rising refining capacity, substantial gains in refining margins would remain unlikely. The documentary presents this as part of the broader narrative connecting profitability to infrastructure limitations. The warning ties directly to debates about why gasoline prices continued rising despite corporate profits, framing the capacity issue as a key factor in the industry's economic position.

• Chevron
• refining capacity
• 2005
• gasoline prices
• profit margins

Representative Nancy Pelosi argued that Shell's claims about a California refinery having no buyers were misleading. She pointed to the refinery's profitability and its critical importance to California's fuel supply. The documentary frames this exchange as part of a larger conversation about transparency between oil companies and the public, highlighting how corporate assertions about infrastructure sometimes conflicted with observable market realities.

• Nancy Pelosi
• Shell
• California refinery
• Pelosi
• energy policy

The documentary attributes the price rise to multiple factors explored throughout the film: limited refining capacity, industry profit strategies, political donations influencing policy decisions, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Senate and House hearings examined these rising costs, with lawmakers questioning whether oil companies were exploiting supply constraints. The price trajectory serves as a barometer for the systemic issues the documentary investigates regarding energy security and corporate influence.

• gasoline prices
• 2001
• 2007
• oil prices
• refining capacity
• Hurricane Katrina

During the May 11, 2006 House Energy Committee hearing, Representative Anna Eshoo questioned why ExxonMobil would pursue new investment profits if the United States was not building more domestic refineries. Committee Chairman Joe Barton responded that weaponizing ExxonMobil's statements would be a low blow, signaling partisan tensions over how to address energy infrastructure. This exchange illustrates the broader debate about whether oil industry investments benefit domestic energy security or primarily serve overseas interests.

• Anna Eshoo
• ExxonMobil
• House Energy Committee
• investment
• domestic refineries

The documentary cites a 1977 book authored by Shell scientists titled 'Fuel Economy of the Gas Engine,' which allegedly records 150 miles per gallon achievement in a 1947 Studebaker. This reference appears alongside other extraordinary fuel economy claims like the water-injected Buick and Tom Ogle's story. The film presents these claims without verification, using them to raise questions about why such high-efficiency technologies did not reach mainstream development if they were technically achievable.

Foreshadowing: The claim follows the earlier introduction of the water-injected Buick story, establishing a pattern of extraordinary but unverified fuel efficiency assertions.

• 150 mpg
• Studebaker
• 1977
• Shell scientists
• fuel economy book

Senator Gordon H. Smith observed during the 2005 hearings that Gulf crude is not used on the West Coast, yet prices spiked there just as they did elsewhere. This remark highlights the regional complexities of oil supply chains and how national price movements affect different markets regardless of their specific supply sources. The documentary uses this point to illustrate how pricing dynamics operate independently of regional production realities.

• Gulf crude
• West Coast
• gasoline prices
• regional supply
• Senator Gordon Smith