Oil production will be cut back at Elk Hills.
The Department of Energy said it will scale back production by 20,000 barrels a day, to about 106,000 barrels daily, at the Naval Petroleum Reserve site west of Bakersfield. The agency also said it will review the bidding process that enabled refiners to buy the federally owned oil for as little as $6.50 a barrel. Independent producers complained that output from Elk Hills was worsening the oil glut and driving prices lower than market forces dictated.
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