Shell jobbers call for rewrite of 'one-sided' contract liability provisions

摘要

Shell jobbers say the "imbalance of power" between major oil companies and their marketers is undermining competition in the fuel distribution system "to the detriment of the environment and the American consumer" and must be changed. The situation has grown worse in recent years because of major oil mergers, according to the National Assn. of Shell Marketers. As the number of potential suppliers dwindles, it has become harder for marketers to seek more favorable prices and terms from majors by threatening to take their business elsewhere. The majors' "excessive power" can be seen with the increasing number of one-sided provisions in typical marketer supply agreements, says NASM exec VP Darryl Smith. For example, current language in the typical supply agreement shifts liability for cleaning up leaks and spills onto the marketer, even where the major is primarily at fault. As well as being "manifestly unfair," requiring a marketer to pay all clean up costs and compensate those whose property may have been damaged reduces the amount available for remediation and legal damages, Smith maintains. "MTBE contamination of drinking water stands as an example of the potential risk that is being shifted wholly onto marketers," Smith says. "It's likely the major impetus for the appearance of the liability-limiting language in many supply agreements."