Case No. RG272-00608

June 30, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Name of Applicant:Regal Marine, Inc.

Date of Filing: July 3, 1995

Case Number: RG272-608

This Decision and Order will consider the Application for Refund filed by Regal Marine, Inc. (Regal), an ocean shipping company based in Greece. The application is based upon Regal’s purchases of refined petroleum products in the United States during the crude oil price control period (August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981). Regal filed its application through Wilson, Keller & Associates, a private filing service. Regal has requested a refund from crude oil funds available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.

In the past, purchasers of refined petroleum products were allowed to apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders between the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85, 495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).

The refund procedures specify that in order to receive a refund, an applicant generally must: (1) document its purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by alleged crude oil overcharges. Applicants who were end-users of petroleum products, however, and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges. These applicants need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

In general, an applicant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by the volumetric refund amount. Currently, the volumetric refund amount is $.0016 per gallon.

We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by Regal, and we have determined that the information provided by it sufficiently supports its Application for Refund. Regal’s claim is for 333,800 gallons of bunker fuel. It purchased the fuel after one of its ships made a trip from the Philippines to Galveston, Texas. Wilson, Keller estimated the number of gallons Regal purchased in Galveston by computing seventy percent of the ship’s bunker capacity. We have previously considered this method of estimating a shipping company’s gallonage claim and determined that, without other supporting information, it is not a valid estimation method. Oivind Lorentzen Shipping AS, 26 DOE ¶ 85,028. In the case of Regal, however, the gallonage claim is very small and is based on one long voyage. Although we do not believe that seventy percent of bunker capacity is a reasonable method for calculating a shipping company’s gallonage claim in most circumstances, we will not request further information for this small application and will accept 333,800 gallons as an estimate of fuel purchased in the United States by Regal Marine, Inc.

We find that Regal was an end-user of refined petroleum products. Accordingly, it is presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and is entitled to receive its full allocable share of the crude oil funds. The total volume approved in this Decision is 333,800 gallons, and the refund granted is $534.

The final deadline for the crude oil proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay eligible crude oil refund applicants at the rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for this and other successful applicants when we are better able to determine how much additional money will be collected from firms that have either outstanding obligations to the DOE or enforcement cases currently in litigation.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Application for Refund filed by Regal Marine, Inc., is hereby granted as set forth in Paragraph (2) below.

(2) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller of the Department of Energy, shall take appropriate action to disburse $534 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking-Applicants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of Treasury to “Regal Marine, Inc., or Wilson, Keller & Associates, P.O. Box 221145, Memphis, TN, 38122.”

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, Regal shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change of address, or if an address correction is necessary. Such notification shall be sent to:

Director of Management Information

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20585-0107

(4) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by the applicant. Any of these determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any Application for Refund is incorrect.

(5) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: June 30, 1997