MILWAUKEE -- Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle said subpoenas are being served requiring the heads of the five major oil companies to appear at a hearing in Milwaukee on Dec. 1, 2005, to testify about record profits in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Those served with subpoenas are David O'Reilly, chairman and CEO of Chevron Corp.; Lee Raymond, chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil Corp.; James Mulva, chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips Co.; Ross Pillari, chairman and CEO of BP America Inc.; and John Hofmeister, president and U.S. country chair of Shell [image-nocss] Oil Co., the execs who just went through the same process at the federal level.
As reported in CSP Daily News, the combined U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources and Commerce, Science & Transportation committees, led by Energy Committee Chair Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), grilled the execs on refining capacity, natural gas, oil prices, price gouging and profits last week.
In addition to requiring the personal appearance of these executives at the state hearing, the subpoenas require them to provide to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection various records and other information in advance of the hearinginformation about refinery capacity in the wake of the hurricanes and specific pricing and profit information about gasoline and natural gas.
"The big oil companies have made an unprecedented fortune from recent high gas prices," Doyle said. "These same companies also happen to be the largest producers of natural gas, and they are poised to continue to make record profits as heating costs in Wisconsin rise 50% or 60%. Wisconsin consumers deserve a refund, and I am going to keep up the fight until Congress and the president agree to take some real action."
Since each of these companies does business in and has offices in Wisconsin, the subpoenas are being delivered to each company's registered agent in the state.
The December 1 hearing will focus on the rising cost of home heating, as well as high gasoline prices. In addition to being the largest oil companies in the United States, the companies being subpoenaed represent four of the five largest natural gas producers in the nation.
"We have chosen December 1 for a reason," Doyle said. "December is when it really begins to get cold in Wisconsinwhen our families, businesses, and our economy feel the first real bite of winter heating bills. I want these CEOs to see and hear firsthand what we are dealing with in Wisconsin, and how hard it is on our families when we have to support their outrageously inflated profits."
In September, Doyle led an effort with seven other governors to urge President Bush and Congress to investigate the profiteering by oil companies after Katrina. They urged Congress to pass legislation requiring oil companies to refund their excess profits to consumers.
In Wisconsin, Doyle has already more than doubled state funding for low-income energy assistance, committed to a multi-state natural gas conservation effort and encouraged homeowners to have a home energy audit. Last week, bipartisan legislation to enact the recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Energy Efficiency & Renewables was announced by Senator Rob Cowles (R) and Representative Phil Montgomery (R).
Erin Roth, a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute (API), said Doyle should wait for Congress and federal investigators to complete their own probes of the industry, added an Associated Press report.
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