Windfall Profit Tax and crude oil price rises

Two days back my colleague suggested me to go for shortsell(it means that the selling the shares at the higher price and buy the share at the lower price difference between those were the returns) the oil company shares.He coined me the term "windfall Profit Tax".The particular tax has been imposed on the oil company by the goverment.Unforunately that particular stock didnt turn up the things what was expected to be.Then i had made some googling to find out the overview of windfall profit tax.So many questions were eating my mind. what is windfall profit tax? When it is coming into the picture?Why its used?Who is the benefitor?Why should my friend advised me to go for the shortsell?

A windfall profits tax is a tax on profits that ensue from a sudden windfall gain to a particular company or industry.In 1980, United States federal legislation was passed that levied such a tax on oil companies because of the profits they earned as a result of the sharp increase in oil prices brought about by the OPEC oil embargo. Since then, the tax has not been reenacted, however with gas prices once again reaching record levels there is renewed pressure on the U.S. government to bring back the tax. Amid low oil prices, the tax was ended in 1988 by President Ronald Reagen
The etymology of the phrase is from colonial times. "The crown precluded the colonists from using any lumber one foot or wider except whereby act of God, such as a severe storm, a tree falling on one's own property. If that happened, the colonists could use the tree that fell down on their property during a storm or they could sell it for a significant amount. So if you had a big storm on your property back in colonial days, and a lot of trees fell down, the resulting monetary reward was called 'a windfall profit.' It was a beneficial thing to a property owner, because they had limits on how much lumber they could use. But if an act of God came down and knocked a bunch of trees, they could use whatever they had. There were no limits on it and they could sell it or use it for their own construction purposes, hence windfall profit."

In our country windfall profit tax were controlled by the commerce and finance ministry.The reason why the topic came to my mind,we all know that left has withdrawn the support for the UPA government except SP(Samajwadi Party).Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh has demanded the government should levy windfall tax to the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Petroleum Limited(RPL) and cancel the other concessions to the private sector petroleum firms.
I thought that what have made this statement so robust next to the nuclear deal and anxiously want to know about the root of this issue.The reference to the above statement http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jul/08oil1.htm

First came to my mind is sky-rocketing crude oil price in the global market effect.Why the crude oil price rises day by day?Who is acting behind the crude oil price?.The high crude oil prices are due to what is happening in the US- the financial crisis and the lowering in value of the US dollar, as well as the associated speculative activities in the petroleum market and other commodities. The mismanagement of US Economy is a chief factor responsible for Oil prices surging over $140/Barrel. Crude oil price is no longer controlled by OPEC,it is denominated by US.Trade market is in New York and in London,so mainly US will decide the price.Today the oil price were determined by the financial companies-turned-oil traders, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, J P Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley who enters into the oil futures or derivative contracts.They who place the bets on oil price and made to become high day by day.The crude oil price and dollar have direct relationship.Crude oil purchases made by US dollars over the thirty five years.So these crude oil were refined by oil refinery firms such as Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Petroleum Limited.They (private refiners) are earning Rs 15 per barrel and a profit of $6 billion.
SP general Secretary Amar Singh said IOC alone would lose over Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) annually as it is forced to buy products at a higher price from an EoU.There is no point to blame Reliance Petroleum Limited for the rise in oil price.If India is rising the crude oil price because of the higher price in global market.Dont blame on the Indian government for the sky rocketing crude oil price.If private companies have the crude oil refined,then government can get the oil directly from them.