CORPORATE CRIME REPORTER

Hamel Wants Feds to Probe BP for Petro Market Manipulation
22 Corporate Crime Reporter 29, July 18, 2008

Oil industry critic Charles Hamel wants the federal government to investigate BP for manipulating West Coast oil markets.

In letters this month to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Walter Lukken and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman William Kovacic, Hamel claims that “since mid-2005 BP Alaska has deliberately manipulated the West Coast gas, diesel, propane, and fuel oil market.”

“On behalf its own interests and as contractor for its Prudhoe Bay partners Exxon, Conoco, and Anadarko, BP consistently caused reduced Alaska crude deliveries to Puget Sound and California refineries.”

“These actions succeeded in tightening the market, and required supplemental, costly crude imports from Ecuador and elsewhere, resulting in higher products prices to California, Washington State, and Oregon consumers,” Hamel wrote. “This unconscionable activity continues today. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records confirm that BP has consistently and deliberately reduced Prudhoe Bay crude production significantly below capacity since 2005.”

In May, the CFTC said it is investigating manipulation of the oil markets.

In a second letter to Lukken dated July 17, Hamel predicted that the CFTC's investigation will reveal that BP, Exxon, Conoco, and Anadarko “deliberately curtailed drilling the Prudhoe satellite reservoir from the I Pad at projected 40,000 barrels a day since 2005 – 50 million barrels lost to the present.”

“The unconscionable misconduct by these four oil giants to deliberately withhold 40,000 barrels a day from North Slope crude starved California and Puget Sound refineries is an inexcusable national disgrace,” Hamel said.

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