SAN ANTONIO >> Tesoro Petroleum Corp. is seeking more than $143 million from the Defense Department in a lawsuit that accuses the Pentagon of underpaying for jet fuel produced at its refineries in Hawaii and Alaska for 16 years. Tesoro sues Pentagon
At issue are prices paid by the
feds over 16 years of fuel sales
in Hawaii and AlaskaAssociated Press
Tesoro's lawsuit is similar to those filed by other oil refiners who say they were cheated under contracts with the Defense Energy Support Center.
The companies say the agency adjusted the prices it paid each month for jet fuel based on information that often underestimated going prices for crude oil.
Tesoro's complaint centers on fuel sold to the government from Tesoro's refineries in Hawaii and Alaska from 1983 to 1999. The company's sales under the contracts in that period reached $1 billion.
Pentagon officials declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but spokeswoman Lynette Ebberts said the support center stood behind its pricing system.
"It was a fair system. It is a fair system," Ebberts said.
San Antonio-based Tesoro filed the lawsuit June 17 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Companies taking similar action include Chevron Texaco Corp., The Williams Cos., Sunoco Inc., Koch Oil Co., Crown Central Petroleum and Phillips Petroleum Co. Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. independent refiner, is reviewing its military jet fuel contract, a company spokesman said.