Case No. RF272-93603

April 23, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Name of Petitioner: Qantas Airways Limited

Date of Filing: July 6, 1992

Case Numbers: RF272-93603

This Decision and Order will consider the Application for Refund filed by Qantas Airways Limited, which purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981. Qantas has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy pursuant to the Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986).

In order to receive a refund for crude oil overcharges, an applicant generally must (1) document its purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by the overcharges. Applicants that were end-users of petroleum products and whose business was unrelated to the petroleum industry, however, are presumed to have been injured. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987). Qantas has shown that it was an end-user of its purchases and is entitled to a refund based on the estimated number of gallons of aviation fuel it purchased within the United States during the refund period. We have reviewed Qantas’s method of estimation and find it to be accurate and conservative.

The amount of an applicant's refund is equal to $0.0016 per gallon multiplied by the volume of its purchases. During the refund period, Qantas purchased an estimated 165,795,954 gallons of eligible product, on which volume we will grant a refund of $265,274. A refund check for this amount will be sent to Qantas Airways Limited at the address listed below.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:*****

(1) The Application for Refund filed by Qantas Airways Limited for all available crude oil overcharge funds is hereby approved 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 the refund amount of $265,274 from the DOE deposit

fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Oil Claimants 4, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to the applicant at the following address:

Qantas Airways Limited

c/o Peter C. Brooks, General Manager Fuel Purchasing

Qantas Centre

203 Coward Street

Mascot 2020

Australia

(3) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the applicant shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change in its 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

U.S.A.

(4) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary material submitted by the applicant. This Decision and Order may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the basis underlying the refund application is incorrect.

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

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: April 23, 1997