The crude oil market is global, and consumers are best served when the free market is allowed to work unrestricted by trade barriers. That is true for gasoline consumers on the West Coast, who were unaffected by exporting relatively small amounts of Alaskan crude oil.
In fact, according to a government audit by the General Accounting Office, lifting the ban on exports of Alaskan crude oil had no significant effect on the prices of gasoline, diesel or jet fuel.
This important information was omitted in an article that alleged BP’s sales to Asia affected the price of gasoline consumers paid on the West Coast (“BP Amoco reportedly juggled supply, Oil giant contrived to `short’ West Coast,” News, Jan. 7).
As BP’s regional president for the Western U.S., I want to assure our customers, employees and neighbors that the company has acted properly and in good faith to deliver low-cost fuels to customers.
The documents that were used as the basis for the article ignored several key facts.
First, for business reasons, BP is not exporting crude oil and has no plans to do so at the present time.
Second, when BP acquired ARCO last spring, it sold ARCO’s Alaska assets and now sends all of its 300,000 barrels a day of Alaskan production to West Coast markets. BP refines 400,000 barrels each day at its West Coast refineries and actually buys oil to fill our refineries in order to provide consumers with gasoline.
Third, prior to the merger only a small fraction of crude oil produced on the North Slope went to Asia. Last year Asian exports accounted for only 3.3 percent of total Alaskan production, hardly enough to influence the global market.
Finally, after close scrutiny of the proposed ARCO acquisition, the Federal Trade Commission and the West Coast states of Oregon, Washington and California all approved BP’s acquisition without ever claiming that West Coast gasoline consumers would be harmed by the combination.
As a nation, our collective challenge is to develop sound energy policies that bring fuels to consumers at a fair price and keep the economy fueled for further growth. As a company, BP will continue its quest to develop new sources of energy for the future.
