Case Nos. RF272-98611, et al.

September 11, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Applications for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Godwin Construction Co. et al.

Dates of Filing: July 5, 1994 et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-98611 et al.

This Decision and Order will consider Applications for Refund that were submitted by seven claimants who purchased refined petroleum products in the United States from August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). The applicants have requested refunds from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) pursuant to the OHA's authority under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. The names of the applicants and the amounts of refined petroleum products that they purchased are set forth in the appendix to this Decision.

This refund proceeding was instituted to allow purchasers of refined petroleum products during the price control period to apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy in Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the crude oil 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 set forth in these cases 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. However, as we discussed in City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987), applicants who were end- users of petroleum products and whose businesses were not covered by the DOE's or its predecessors' price controls are presumed to have been injured.

Generally, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016. We derived this volumetric refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies currently available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the period of crude oil price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).

Each applicant seeks a refund based on its estimated purchases of refined petroleum products during the refund period.(1) These estimates are based on contemporaneously maintained records. Three of the applicants are maritime shipping companies, which estimated their gallonage claims by multiplying their average daily usage of petroleum products by the number of days that their vessels spent at sea. In each instance, we have examined the information submitted and we conclude that the estimation techniques used are reasonable and that the volumes claimed reflect accurately the applicants’ purchases. We will therefore approve these gallonage claims.

Each applicant purchased its refined petroleum products for use in a business that is unrelated to the petroleum industry and did not resell those products. The applicants are therefore end-users of refined petroleum products and are presumed to have been injured by the crude oil overcharges. Accordingly, the applicants are entitled to receive their full allocable shares of the crude oil monies.

The refund amount granted to each applicant is set forth in the appendix to this Decision and Order. The total volume approved in this Decision is 50,907,654 gallons of refined petroleum products, and the total of the refunds granted is $81,452.

The final deadline for applications in the crude oil refund proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay eligible crude oil refund claimants at the rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for these applicants 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 Applications for Refund filed by the claimants listed in the appendix to this Decision for all available crude oil overcharge funds are 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 refunds totaling $81,452 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account denominated Crude Tracking - Claimants 4, Account Number 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury, to the applicants set forth in the appendix to this Decision.

(3) To facilitate the payment of any future refunds, the applicants 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 applicants. These determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any 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: September 11, 1997

APPENDIX

APPLICANT PAYEE AND

AND CASE NO. ADDRESS VOLUME REFUND

RF272-98611

Godwin Construction Marshall Godwin 7,552,275 $12,084

Co. Palmetto Paving

Corp.

P.O. Box 346

Conway, SC

29526

RF272-98677

Canadian Pacific Canadian 11,272,555 18,036

Express & Transport, Pacific Express

Ltd. & Transport, Ltd.

or Wilson, Keller

& Associates

P.O. Box 221145

Memphis, TN

38122

RF272-98691

Bluff City Transfer Bluff City 1,245,180 1,992

& Storage Transfer &

Storage or

Wilson, Keller

& Associates

P.O. Box 221145

Memphis, TN

38122

RF272-98698

Kenmore Air Harbor, Kenmore Air 2,369,322 3,791

Inc. Harbor, Inc.

or Wilson, Keller

& Associates

P.O. Box 221145

Memphis, TN

38122

RG272-407

Oy Finnlines, Ltd. FG Shipping 20,495,254 32,792

Oy AB or Wilson,

Keller & Associates

P.O. Box 221145

Memphis, TN

38122

RG272-420

Brodin Shipping Brodin Shipping 332,086 531

AB AB or Wilson,

Keller & Associates

P.O. Box 221145

Memphis, TN

38122

RG272-556

C.A.V.N. C.A.V.N. or 7,640,982 12,226 Wilson, Keller

& Associates

P.O. Box 221145

Memphis, TN

38122

_________________________________________________________________

TOTALS 7 50,907,654 $81,452

(1) Interested parties were provided with an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to the applications considered in this Decision.