FOR RELEASE:  OCTOBER 8, 1993

            NEW YORK OIL COMPANY SETTLES FTC CHARGES
                 IN CONNECTION WITH OCTANE RULE

     Agway Petroleum Corporation, a New York-based gasoline dis-
tributor, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges
that it violated the Commission's Octane Rule by failing to
properly certify the octane ratings of gasoline it sold to retail
gas stations.  Under the proposed settlement, Agway would be
required to pay a $25,000 civil penalty and be prohibited from
violating the rule in the future.
     Agway Petroleum Corporation, doing business as Agway Energy
Products, is headquartered in DeWitt, New York, and markets gaso-
line and other petroleum products in 11 Mid-Atlantic and New
England states.

     An octane rating is a measure of a gasoline's ability to
resist automotive engine "knock" or "ping," resulting from an
uneven burning of the compressed fuel-air mixture.  The FTC's
Octane Rule requires retailers to disclose the octane rating of
their gasoline by posting the now-familiar bright yellow sticker
on each pump.  (Effective Oct. 25, the Octane Rule will be
renamed "the Fuel Rating Rule" to include alternative liquid
automotive fuels including, among others, methanol and ethanol.)
The disclosure requirements of the Octane Rule are intended to
help consumers choose the correct gasoline for their engines. 
Under the rule, gasoline refiners and importers determine the
octane rating.  After that, each entity in the distribution chain
must certify the octane rating to the next recipient, based
either on its own determination or the certification it received. 
This is the rule provision Agway is alleged to have violated.

     The proposed consent decree to settle these charges would
require Agway to pay the civil penalty to the Treasury of the
United States, and would prohibit the company from violating any
provision of the Octane Rule in the future.

                            - more -
(Agway Petroleum Corp.--10/08/93)

     The complaint and proposed consent decree were filed Oct. 7
on behalf of the FTC by the Department of Justice in U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of New York in Syracuse.
The Commission vote to authorize the filing of the complaint and
proposed consent decree was 5-0.

NOTE:  This consent decree is for settlement purposes only and
does not constitute an admission by the company that it violated
the law.  Consent decrees have the force of law when signed by
the judge.

     Copies of the complaint and consent decree will be available
shortly from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, 6th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.  20580; 202-326-2222;
TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261.  The FTC also has a
consumer brochure titled "Octane Ratings" that explains the
Octane Rule and how consumers can choose the best gasoline for
their automobiles.  It is available from the same address.

                              # # #

MEDIA CONTACT:      Brenda A. Mack, Office of Public Affairs
                    202-326-2182

STAFF CONTACT:      Elaine D. Kolish, Bureau of Consumer
                    Protection, 202-326-3024
                    or
                    Jeffrey E. Feinstein, 202-326-2372

(FTC File No. 922 3190)

(Civil Action No. 93 CV 1278)

(Agway)