The Federal Power Commission in its regulation of independent producers of natural gas has required them to file their contracts as rate schedules. This was done by regulations which evolved as a result of a series of rule-making proceedings. The pertinent regulations presently provide that only certain pricing provisions in the contracts of independent producers are 'permissible,' any other being 'inoperative and of no effect at law.' The regulations go on to say that any contract executed on or after April 2, 1962, containing pricechanging provisions other than the 'permissible' ones, 'shall be rejected' so far as producer rates are concerned, that a producer's application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under § 7 of the Natural Gas Act 'shall be rejected' if any contract submitted in support of it contains any of the forbidden provisions, and that, so far as pipeline certificates are concerned, any producer contract executed after that date which has that infirmity 'will be given no consideration in determining adequacy' of a pipeline company's gas supply.
These regulations were adopted pursuant to the provisions of § 4 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 60 Stat. 238, 5 U.S.C. § 1003. General notice of the proposed rule making was published in the Federal Register as required by § 4(a) of that Act. The Commission also gave interested parties a 'hearing' under § 4(b). No oral argument was had but an opportunity was afforded for all interested parties to submit their views in writing; and the two respondents in this case-Texaco and Pan American-along with others, did so.
Later, each respondent submitted an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under § 7 of the Natural Gas Act, to supply natural gas to a pipeline company. Section 7 provides, with exceptions not presently material, that the Commission 'shall set' such an application 'for hearing.' Since, however, the applications disclosed price clauses that are not 'permissible' under the regulations, the Commission without a hearing rejected the applications. 28 F.P.C. 551; 29 F.P.C. 378. Petitions for review were filed with the Court of Appeals, which set aside the orders of the Commission. 10 Cir., 317 F.2d 796. It held that while the regulations are valid as a statement of Commission policy, they cannot be used to deprive an applicant of the statutory hearing granted those who seek certificates of public convenience and necessity. The two cases are here in one petition for certiorari which we granted because of an apparent conflict between that decision and Superior Oil Co. v. Federal Power Comm'n, 9 Cir., 322 F.2d 601, decided by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 375 U.S. 902, 84 S.Ct. 193, 11 L.Ed.2d 142.
A preliminary question, which concerns Texaco Inc., alone, is whether venue to review these orders of the Commission was properly in the Tenth Circuit. The governing provision is § 19(b) of the Natural Gas Act which provides:
'Any party to a proceeding under this Act aggrieved by an order issued by the Commission in such proceeding may obtain a review of such order in the court of appeals of the United States for any circuit wherein the natural-gas company to which the order relates is located or has its principal place of business, or in the United States court of appeals for the District of Columbia * * *.'