Plans To Award Additional Financial Assistance to the Union Oil Company Oil Shale Program

In response to a congressional request, GAO commented on whether the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation's plans to award up to $2.7 billion in assistance to Union Oil Company for phase II of an oil shale program were consistent with the Corporation's programmatic goals. GAO also reviewed whether the Corporation's awarding of financial assistance to the company for phase II was proper, since: (1) phase I had already received $400 million in assistance from the Department of Energy; and (2) the company had not been successful in operating phase I even though construction was completed in August 1983.