Chevron Memo Raises Suspicion

[struggle4progress]

theKCRAchannel.com
5:41 p.m. PDT May 5, 2006

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Chevron memo is raising suspicion that oil executives intentionally reduced refining capacity in an effort to boost profits. The 1995 memo, obtained by Consumers Union, reads:

"If the U.S. petroleum industry doesn't reduce it's refining capacity, it will never see any substantial increase in refinery profits."

In the last 20 years, 18 of California's 32 refineries have shut down. The industry is now seeing record prices and profits at the pump ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12652455/

[magellan]

1. Saw this on the news Thursday night

They're denying it, of course. And we all know what that means.

[Toucano]

2. I've been telling people this for YEARS in response to the meme

"We haven't built a new refinery in 30 years."

and the old reliable

"Environmentalists forced refineries to close."

Thanks for the confirmation, Chevron.

[smtpgirl]

3. why is this a surprise?

Rubber stamp congress and senate, that is why gas is over $3 a gallon

They could have exposed this trickery for what is worth

people just don't give a SHIT until it hurts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[norml]

4. Leaked Oil Industry Memo Suggests Bid to Curb Refinery Output

Published on Friday, June 15, 2001 by the Associated Press

Leaked Oil Industry Memo Suggests Bid to Curb Refinery Output
by H. Josef Hebert

Even as the Bush administration cites a lack of refineries as a cause of energy shortages, oil industry documents show that five years ago companies were looking for ways to cut refinery output to raise profits.

The internal memos involving several major oil companies were released Thursday by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., whose office obtained them from a whistleblower. He said the materials did not necessarily reflect any illegal activities but said some of them "sure look very anticompetitive."

snip

The documents obtained by Wyden's office suggest that in the mid-1990s oil companies had no interest in building refineries because of low profit margins. In fact, companies were discussing the need to curtail refinery output in order to make more money, the documents suggest.

"If the U.S. petroleum industry doesn't reduce its refining capacity, it will never see any substantial increase in refinery margins (profits)," said an internal Chevron document in November 1995, citing views presented by participants at an American Petroleum Institute conference.

A year later, an official at Texaco, in a memo marked "highly confidential," called concerns about too much refinery capacity "the most critical factor" facing the refinery industry. Excess capacity is producing "very poor refining financial results," the memo said.


snip


http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0615-02.htm

[norml]

5. Alaska sues BP, Exxon Mobil over natural gas

Alaska sues BP, Exxon Mobil over natural gas
State claims oil giants conspired to keep prices high

The Associated Press
Updated: 8:10 a.m. ET Dec. 20, 2005


JUNEAU, Alaska - An antitrust lawsuit filed against Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP PLC claims the two oil giants are restricting the nation's supply of natural gas and keeping prices at record highs.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Fairbanks, says the two companies acted together to eliminate competition for the exploration, development and marketing of natural gas from Alaska's North Slope to U.S. markets.

"The only reason for them to collusively not to sell is to try to continue the scarcity that has driven natural gas prices to historic highs," said David Boies, the attorney for the Alaska Gasline Port Authority, which filed the lawsuit.

BP and Exxon Mobil are two of Alaska's biggest oil and gas leaseholders, and are the operators for the North Slope's largest oil and gas fields, Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson. Alaska's North Slope is estimated to have at least 35 trillion cubic feet (1 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas reserves, which could supply 7 percent to 10 percent of the nation's natural gas, Boies said.

The January future contract for natural gas rose 41 cents Monday to settle at $14.04 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gas contracts have reached record levels near $16 per 1,000 cubic feet in recent months.

"I don't think anybody can tell you exactly how much the prices would decline, but it's clear it would decline substantially," Boies said.


snip


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10543895/from/RSS/print/1/displaymode/1098/