94-12648. Termination of Execption Relief

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 24, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12648]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: May 24, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Hearings and Appeals

 

Termination of Execption Relief

AGENCY: Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Termination of exception relief and opportunity to file refund 
applications (Case No. LFX-0008).

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SUMMARY: The Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of 
Energy (DOE) announces the final procedures for the disbursement of a 
portion of the approximately $131,000,000, plus interest, obtained by 
the DOE as the result of the termination of exception relief granted to 
the 341 Tract Unit of the Citronelle Field. The OHA determined that 
each refiner's share of the available Citronelle fund would be based on 
the percentage of its runs to stills on the Entitlements List for 
November 1980. Further, the OHA determined a presumptive level of 
absorption of the additional cost of the Citronelle recertification of 
5.4 percent.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: Applications for Refund will be accepted from 
those participants on the DOE's November 1980 Entitlements List which 
have not previously filed briefs or evidence in this proceeding on the 
refiner absorption issue. (Those refiners which previously filed refund 
applications in this Citronelle proceeding need not file again.) The 
Applications must be postmarked no later than June 15, 1995, and should 
be addressed to the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. All 
applications should display a reference to Case Number RF345.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas L. Wieker, Deputy Director; 
Virginia Lipton, Assistant Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585, 
[phone] (Wieker), [phone] (Lipton).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given of the issuance of a 
final Decision and Order, dated May 18, 1994, entitled the 341 Tract 
Unit of the Citronelle Field, that provides for the procedures the DOE 
will use to disburse the escrowed funds which were received as a result 
of the termination of exception relief granted to the 341 Tract Unit of 
the Citronelle Field. The exception relief permitted the Unit to 
recertify a sufficient quantity of its prior production of price-
controlled crude oil to produce $63.8 million. The funds generated by 
the recertification were placed in an escrow account. These funds, with 
accrued interest, now total approximately $131,000,000. Interest 
continues to accrue on the funds, which are presently deposited in an 
interest-bearing escrow account maintained at the United States 
Department of the Treasury.
    The recertification by the Unit had the effect of raising per-
barrel prices of crude oil to crude oil refiners who were participants 
in the Entitlements Program as of November 1980. Accordingly, as part 
of a proceeding akin to that set forth at 10 CFR subpart V (Special 
Procedures for Distribution of Refunds), the OHA decided to consider 
what portion of the escrowed funds should be reserved for refunds for 
those participants. The OHA invited interested parties to submit 
evidence regarding the refiners' level of absorption of the cost of the 
Citronelle recertification.
    The OHA received briefs and evidence submitted by a group of 
Refiners, a group of States and a group of End-users regarding the 
amount of the Citronelle recertification that refiners absorbed. The 
OHA also convened an evidentiary hearing and oral argument regarding 
this issue. After considering all the evidence, the OHA determined in 
the Decision that the Refiners had not shown that they absorbed the 
cost of the Citronelle recertification at a level greater than the 5.4 
percent overall average absorption rate found in the OHA's Stripper 
Well Report. Accordingly, the OHA decided to adopt a presumptive 
absorption rate of 5.4 percent of the cost of the Citronelle 
recertification.
    The OHA further determined that each refiner's portion of the 
available Citronelle funds (its allocable share) would be its 
percentage of the total runs to stills on the November 1980 
Entitlements List. The OHA stated that it would apply the 5.4 percent 
presumption to the refiners' allocable shares. The OHA set forth a list 
of the information that should be included in all Citronelle refund 
applications.
    In a previous determination, the OHA directed refiner applicants 
who submitted briefs and evidence regarding the absorption issue to 
file Citronelle refund applications concurrently with their refund 
claims. We received claims from 25 refiners during that phase of the 
Citronelle proceeding. Refiners that were named on the November 1980 
Entitlements list and that did not submit briefs and applications 
during that phase of the Citronelle proceeding should do so at this 
time. These applications must be postmarked by June 15, 1995.
    Copies of the Decision and Order may be obtained through the Public 
Reference Room of the Office of Hearings and Appeals at 1000 
Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585. Further, this Decision 
will be published in Federal Energy Guidelines, a commercially 
published loose leaf reporter system.

    Dated: May 18, 1994.
George B. Breznay,
Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals.
[FR Doc. 94-12648 Filed 5-23-94; 8:45 am]
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