Amber Refining, Inc. v. Occidental Oil & Gas Co.

WESLEY E. BROWN, Judge:

The Department of Energy (“DOE”) appeals a final judgment entered against it in favor of Occidental Oil and Gas Company. The judgment arose out of an agreement between DOE and the Permian Corporation1 which set up an escrow account to pay claims against Permian brought by third parties. The district court determined that DOE violated its agreement with Permian by unreasonably withholding approval of a settlement that Permian negotiated with Amber Refining, Inc.

I. Facts and Procedure.

In 1979 the DOE issued a “Notice of Probable Violation” in which it alleged that Permian…