WATCHING WASHINGTON FOCUS ON GAS RELIABILITY

A milestone in the history of the U.S. petroleum industry passed Jan. 1, when the last price controls on natural gas production were finally phased out. The controls meant little because more than 95% of all gas sold last year brought prices less than legal ceilings. But gas price controls once had a profound effect on industry. They were imposed after the Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that the government could regulate interstate gas prices back to the wellhead. Suppressed gas prices eventually