Case No. RF272-75542
May 03, 2002
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Application for Refund
Name of Petitioner: Petrolite Corporation
Date of Filing: June 26, 1989
Case Number: RF272-75542
This Decision and Order considers an Application for Refund in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding submitted by Petrolite Corporation (Applicant). 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 (DOE) 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 have determined that it was an end-user of eligible petroleum products. The Applicant derived its purchase volume claim by consulting actual records and by using reasonable estimation techniques. (1)
After considering the Application carefully, we have concluded that a refund is warranted for the purchase volume claimed in the Applicants submission. The total volume for which a refund is approved in this Decision is 147,110,048 gallons and the sum of the refund granted is $235,376 (147,110,048 gallons x $0.0016 per gallon).
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 pending claims, whether any further payment is to be made.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Application for Refund filed by Petrolite Corporation, Case No. RF272-75542, 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 $235,376 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z. The check should be made out to and sent to the following address:
Petrolite Corporation or
Baker Petrolite Corporation
Attn: Kent Reynolds
12845 W. Airport Blvd.
Sugarland TX 77478
(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:
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 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: May 3, 2002
(1)In its application for refund, the Applicant submitted a list of a substantial number of products in its requested purchase volume claim. Subsequent research conducted by OHA and the Applicant ascertained that a number of the products were not covered products eligible for refund. The Applicant subsequently excluded these products from its purchase volume claim.