Essentially, Big Oil is waiting for the price to go up before they sell to the people. But they almost have to. Why? Because the cost of refining leaves them little or no profit (maybe a loss) if they don't get enough $$$ at the pumps.
One of the major differences this time is alternate energy.
In addition, if they sell less, there is less tax money for government. This means that government might put pressure on them to refine and sell.