It's not unusual for govt to step in when business practices begin negatively impacting the population. That's why we have child labor laws, antitrust laws, clean air and water legislation, collective bargaining laws, banking regulations etc. I'm sure when those laws/legislation were implemented we heard the chant, "you don't know how the economy works!". Wouldn't surprise me if slave owners used that same mantra back in 1800s.
What have oil companies done to earn whacked profits? They didn't develop a new vaccine like some pharm companies, they didn't have to handle a huge upswing in volume like our hospitals did during COVID. They have no new product...haven't developed any great new innovations. Overhead hasn't increased. Nope, they can charge double what they're pulling out of the ground today due to a price change in the world mkt. And, you and I get to fund this pure profit - it's not like we have much of an alternative. You can count on one thing; oil company executives and employees will receive some hellacious profit sharing and/or bonus checks at the end of the year. You're welcome?
Now, I'm not sure how a tax can be implemented with consumers getting a rebate, but I have no issue with govt exploring options.