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To: Richnorth who wrote (89393)	9/8/2002 12:44:12 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116796

They are obviously(somewhat) nutz with a crazy agenda BUT: FTCR: Motorists Overpaying Billions Due to Supply Manipulation U.S. Newswire 28 Aug 10:00 FTCR: Motorists Overpaying Billions Due to Refiner Supply Wed Aug 28,10:45 AM ET To: National Desk Contact: Jamie Court of FTCR, 310-392-0522 ext. 327 or Tim Hamilton, 360-490-1077 SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- As motorists take to the roads this labor day, a new report by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) has found California drivers are overpaying billions annually for their gasoline and there is a simple solution to the problem. The report written by petroleum expert Tim Hamilton for FTCR details how West Coast gasoline refiners have manipulated supplies to keep gasoline prices artificially high. It recommends going to one grade of gasoline to protect against such inventory manipulation in the future. "The Solutions Needed To Keep Pump Prices Under $2" can be read at consumerwatchdog.org. "If the state fails to act on these findings, price spikes will become a way of life in California," said Hamilton. "The cheapest and easiest way for taxpayers to create a strategic reserve in order to avoid price spikes is to use existing pump capacity," said Jamie Court, executive director of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "Rather than drill in the Arctic, let's clean the pumps of the higher-octane fuel that is half the time not used and is not needed." The review of industry data, depositions and internal memos of oil company executives produced in litigation, trade journal reports, and other publicly available information found, among other things: -- The majority of the higher gasoline prices in the West (adjusted for differences in state/local taxes) are attributable to inflated refiner profit margins. By keeping inventories intentionally low, refiners can create the likelihood of price spikes that increase their profit margin; -- By monitoring the crude sales and published reports of the volume of crude going into each refinery, oil companies can gauge the current level of production. Since they share common storage tanks and pipeline schedules, each refiner can quickly determine the movement of gasoline, level of importing or exporting, and existing inventory levels; -- Existing antitrust laws do not adequately address (cont) story.news.yahoo.com