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Petitioner was forced to close the Phillipsburg refinery
for a short time due to a lack of supply of crude oil.
In an effort to secure an adequate supply of crude oil
for the Phillipsburg refinery, Mr. Cowden sought to have
the U.S. Department of Justice investigate monopoly
conditions in the oil industry. Mr. Cowden also instigated
a mail-in campaign designed to encourage the Governor of
Kansas to increase the maximum allowable output of wells
connected to the refinery. Eventually, Standard Oil agreed
to supply crude oil to the refinery. With the exception of
a brief shortage in 1948, petitioner was able to purchase
an adequate amount of crude oil from unrelated parties to
utilize the entire production capacity of the Phillipsburg
refinery until the energy crisis of the 1970's. However,
petitioner’s directors remained concerned about the
possibility of shortages.
In September 1940, petitioner formed a wholly owned
subsidiary called Consumers Oil Production Association
(COPA) to engage in oil exploration and drilling, and to
purchase existing oil wells. Petitioner’s directors
believed that by controlling crude oil production, the
company could maintain a consistent level of supply for its
refinery and avoid reliance on suppliers who might be
hostile toward petitioner. By the end of 1940, COPA held
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