Fair Marketing of Petroleum Products Act
Key claim: Oil refiners and distributors would be barred from canceling or refusing to renew a gas-station franchise unless the dealer substantially broke essential contract terms or the company left the U.S. gasoline business entirely.
Abstract
(S1694 · 93th Congress) (LATEST SUMMARY) Prohibits refiners or distributors of petroleum products from canceling, failing to renew, or otherwise terminating a franchise unless the retailer or distributor whose franchise is terminated failed to comply substantially with any essential and reasonable requirement of such franchise or failed to act in good faith in carrying out the terms of such franchise, or unless such refiner or distributor withdraws entirely from the sale of refined petroleum products in commerce for sale other than resale in the United States. Sets forth procedural and jurisdictional requirements for suits brought as a result of violation of this Act. Latest action (1974-08-08): Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Why this matters
Franchise termination rules shape whether independent gas-station dealers can be squeezed out by their suppliers, which in turn affects retail competition and prices at the pump. The 1974 Senate bill is a historical marker for the federal debate that eventually produced the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act of 1978, and it illustrates how energy-retail concentration has long been treated as a consumer-protection issue rather than a pure commercial matter.