[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 27, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28688-28689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13717]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. GP97-3-000]


Amoco Production Company, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Mobil 
Oil Corporation, OXY USA, Inc. and Union Pacific Resources Company; 
Notice of Petition for Adjustment

May 20, 1997.
    Take notice that on May 12, 1997, Amoco Production Company, P.O. 
Box 3092, Houston, Texas 77253-3092, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation,\1\ 
P.O. Box 1330, Houston, Texas 77251, Mobil Oil Corporation, 12450 
Greenspoint Drive, Houston, Texas 77060-1991, OXY USA, Inc.,\2\ 110 
West 7th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119, and Union Pacific Resources 
Company,\3\ Fort Worth, Texas 76102-6803 (collectively identified as 
Petitioners) filed a petition for adjustment under Section 502(c) of 
the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 (NGPA) and Subpart K of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, requesting pre-remittance 
relief from the requirement to pay interest on all refunds that 
Petitioners may be directed to make with respect to gas production 
between October 4, 1983 and June 28, 1988, owing to Petitioners' 
collection (from their respective gas purchasers) of Kansas ad valorem 
tax reimbursements that have since been deemed to be in excess of the 
NGPA's applicable maximum lawful gas prices, all as more fully set 
forth in the subject petition.
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    \1\ Anadarko's predecessors in interest include Pan Eastern 
Exploration Company, APX Corporation, and Metagorda Island 
Exploration Corporation.
    \2\ OXY's predecessors in interest include Cities Service Oil 
and Gas Corporation and Cities Service Company.
    \3\ Union Pacific's predecessors in interest include Champlin 
Petroleum Company.
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    This matter evolved out of the Commission's 1974 decision in 
Opinion No. 699-D, to permit gas producers to recover Kansas ad valorem 
tax reimbursements from their gas purchasers, the Commission's 
subsequent decision to allow gas producers to collect Kansas ad valorem 
tax reimbursements under Section 110 of the NGPA, and Northern Natural 
Gas Company's 1983 challenge to such collections,\4\ culminating in the 
decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit, in Public Service Company of Colorado v. FERC, 91 
F.3d 1478 (D.C. Cir. 1996), that refunds should be paid with respect

[[Page 28689]]

to Kansas ad valorem tax reimbursements on production between October 
4, 1983 and June 28, 1988, and the Supreme Court's denial of cross-
petitions for certiorari, filed in connection with the D.C. Circuit's 
decision in Public Service Company of Colorado v. FERC.
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    \4\ See 48 FR 45287 (October 4, 1983).
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    Any person desiring to participate in this proceeding must file a 
motion to intervene in accordance with Sections 385.211 and 385.214 of 
the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures. All motions must be 
filed with the Secretary of the Commission within 15 days after 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The petition for 
adjustment is on file with the Commission and is available for public 
inspection.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-13717 Filed 5-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M