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Energy Department puts up to $150 million toward refineries

The money comes from one billion dollars Congress already set aside for national security energy projects; the Energy Department hasn't said which refineries get it.

On air: Hank Ledger on BBN Tonight
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  1. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe Energy Department says it will spend up to a hundred fifty million dollars to boost refining at U. S. refineries, while diesel averages six dollars and thirty-two cents a gallon.

  2. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWith us tonight is Cornelius Abernathy-Voss, inmate forty-oh-four-seventeen at a minimum-security prison, and a self-described fuel logistics man. Is a hundred fifty million enough?

  3. Cornelius Abernathy-VossNo, and I say that with respect.

  4. Cornelius Abernathy-VossA critic at the National Center for Energy Analytics says big refinery changes cost hundreds of millions, into the billions.

  5. Cornelius Abernathy-VossAllegedly a tanker holds more than that in value, and I allegedly knew of four.

  6. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorFour tankers.

  7. Cornelius Abernathy-VossAllegedly nine. I still have my loyalty card from a gas station, with eleven cents on it.

  8. Cornelius Abernathy-VossThat is the only fuel asset the court left me.

  9. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo let me ask you about the timing. Trump announced this at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, less than two weeks before the midterms.

  10. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIs that a coincidence?

  11. Cornelius Abernathy-VossI can't speak to rallies, Hank.

  12. Cornelius Abernathy-VossI only did my business at night. But the money comes from a billion dollars Congress already set aside for national security energy projects, so nobody had to ask anyone twice.

  13. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorYou said nobody. Which refineries get the money?

  14. Cornelius Abernathy-VossThe department hasn't said which ones. It says it will announce its selections soon.

  15. Cornelius Abernathy-VossI'd like it noted that I'm available, and that I have a very clean record since Tuesday.

  16. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorYou called me about a job.

  17. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorVerdict: a hundred fifty million is small, and your tanker count is not. The Energy Department says it will announce its selections soon.

  18. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHe's filled out the form for every refinery they haven't named. That's all of them.

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