An e-mail making the rounds of the Internet urges consumers to buy gas only from certain national-name stations, and boycott others. The reason is supposed to be that some oil companies buy from countries that support terrorism, others purchase their crude from “friendly” nations. Department of Natural Resources fuel-price David Downing says it’s not likely.There may be a grain of truth to it, though determining the origin of any product, from gas to jet fuel, is difficult, says Downing. He’s gotten a dozen inquiries since the urban legend started circulating, but explains there’s no guarantee the message is correct. He says you never know where the product came from originally because it’s changed hands. Oil from Iran or Iraq could be sold two or three times, wind up at a refinery in Venezuela or Nigeria, and in turn be sold by that “friendly” to the US. A classic example is the company that declares it buys fuel from Russia, when Russia bought it in the first place from Iraq. Downing says it also won’t work to single out certain “chain” gas stations as more than 50-percent of the gas in the U-S is sold by independents, and they’ll buy whatever’s cheapest. He says there may be a shred of truth in the e-mail, but even American companies that import oil stamped with a state of origin have no way of knowing or proving where it first came from.
