April 7, 2003

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Name of Petitioner: Lineas Aereas Paraguayas

Date of Filing: April 2, 2003

Case Number: RG272-01106

This Decision and Order considers and ultimately grants an Application for Refund, releasing $10,155 in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding. The name of the applicant is set forth in this Decision and Order. The applicant purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981 and 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). The applicant relies on the presumption of injury for end-users as the basis for its refund claim. Under this presumption, OHA will presume applicants were injured if they were end-users of petroleum products and were not covered by the DOE or its predecessors’ price controls. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

We have reviewed the information submitted by the applicant and determined that it was an end-user of eligible petroleum products. The applicant derived its purchase volume claim by consulting actual records or by using reasonable estimation techniques. (1) 1/ After considering the Application carefully, we have concluded that a refund is warranted for the purchase volume and in the amount set forth in the Decision. 2/(2) The total volume for which a refund is approved in this Decision is 6,347,170 gallons and the refund granted is $10,155.

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 claimants at the rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide, as we near the resolution of the remaining open claims, whether any further payment is appropriate.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Application for Refund filed by the claimant in this Decision and Order 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 amounts set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to the applicant or its representative. A refund check for $10,155 shall be sent to the applicant or its representative at the following address:

Lineas Aereas Paraguayas OR Wilson, Keller & Assoc.

c/o Peter L. McMickle

P.O. Box 221145

Memphis, TN 38122

(3) To facilitate the payment of any 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:

Office of Hearings and Appeals

HG-1/L’Enfant Plaza Building

U.S. Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20585-1615

(4)The determination made in this Decision and Order is 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 7, 2003

(1)The application under consideration was submitted by a private filing service.

(2)Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to the application involved in this determination.