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Show Gas S h o rtages? Wot yet i n Ced a r C i ty I j"W f- 1 I f I .0 ' . L ?S at "' - , I P- ' . , - 1 i E2223 EIm POl (f si m mm mm M M M f" l'f IZZJ n T,DN M0T0D A1. f ') u iF.jiEir : jjh Local oil suppliers are receiving from 80 to 95 percent of their allotments allot-ments from last year, and most of the local businessmen do not foresee gasoline lines in Southern Utah. Several of the businessmen who were contacted last week by telephone and in person were reluctant to make any predictions. "When I get phone calls from Phoenix and Las Vegas for gasoline I know that supplies are tight, we're keeping our gasoline and oil here," said Dave Evans, President of Canyonland Oil. He said that Canyonland's allocations are at 85 percent of last year's supply. Other supplies for local wholesalers are 90 percent for Jenkins Oil Co., 80 percent for Chevron and 80 percent for Continental Oil Co. A representative represen-tative of Ken Bettridge Distributing would not discuss the local oil situation and asked that the subject be discussed with organizations and business headquarters in Salt Lake City and Denver. Several suppliers spoke in depth on the country's present oil situation. Frustrations are prevalent with the oil companies, the government, and some concern over consumers being expressd. DECONTROL i Evans fovors decontrol and says that oil companies have not had the incentive to pump American crude oil from the ground because controls have made foreign oil more profitable. He said that this situation in turn has made the country increasingly in-creasingly dependent on foreign supplies and OPEC. "I think that controls are why the prices have steadily increased. They've backed the government into a corner because we have become more and more dependent on foreign oil," said Evans. He said that gasoling prices for regular in the area have increased from 42.4 cents per gallon in 1973 to 82.3 cents per gallon in 1978. He favors the development of oil shale and other energy sources. "In Vernal, there's more oil in oil shale than this .-nation has ever used. If we can overcome some of the environmental en-vironmental problems and develop the technology we still have a lot of oil," he said. 1 DEPT. OF ENERGY Evans was critical of the Department Depart-ment of Energy saying that it was starting as only a temporary program. He said that their budget now exceeds the profits from the all the major oil companies "combined and that citizens are paying for it. He estimates that it will take from two to three years of decontrol to increase oil, supplies and production within the U.S. Several suppliers stated that Conoco's loss of a Colorado refinery has hurt the West's supply of gasoline. They also expressed a consensus on the nation's refining capacity feeling that it is inadequate to meet the public demand. EAST-WEST "The government made each oil company decide on allocations. Since they can only supply the East with 90 percent, they can only give out 90 percent in the West. Ther's no gasoline shortage in the West, but if the East suffers the West has to too," said Ronald Jenkins, owner of Jenkins Oil Co. Jenkins said that the West has no supply shortage because most domestic crude is pumped and refined here. He said that the East is much more dependent on foreign sources. "The East affects the West even though they shouldn't," he said. Jenkins says that the U.S. is only refining 15 million of the 21 million barrels of oil which it consumes each day. He favors increased refining capacities so that finished oil products do not have to be imported. PROJECTIONS "I personally don't see a $1 a gallon gasoline in Cedar City this year-I think you'll see it in Las Vegas though." said Evans. . He stated that price fixing is not going on in Cedar City and that dealers are making only a marginal profit on gasoline. "The dealers around here aren't getting rich... I would like to feel that our dealers make at least a 15 percent return on sales," said Evans who stated that dealer profits of from 7-9 cents per gallon in 1973 have decreased while they've also been frozen into the volume of product which they can sell. Evans does not favor a windfall profits tax but does favor legislation requiring oil companies to invest their profits in energy development. He said that only energy development "can get us back where we have an energy surplus rather than a shortfall." short-fall." So while gasoline lines in Los Angeles and Las Vegas continue to stretch, according to local businessmen Cedar City is in comparatively com-paratively good shape-at least for the present. "Area gas prices have been steadily climbng snce 1973 but still have not kept up with prices being charged in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Local suppliers say that Cedar City doesn't have to worry about gas lines at least for a while |