OMAHA, Neb. — The Terror-Free Oil Initiative is planning to open the nation's first "terror free" gas station in Omaha.

The Florida-based group claims U.S. dollars used to purchase gas made from Middle East oil funds terrorism. It urges Americans to only buy oil products that originate from countries that do not support terrorism.

The Terror-Free Oil station in west Omaha will sell gas from oil companies that do not do business in the Middle East. Signs calling for the use of non-Middle Eastern oil were up at the station today.

...John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, called the terror-free oil concept "absurd" because, for example, "TFOI lists Amerada Hess (Charts) as a company that doesn't import from the Persian Gulf, but they may buy oil from Exxon Mobil (Charts) and then sell it on the exchange market."

And the API's John Bisney pointed out another problem, saying the initiative is "an interesting concept but the economic reality means it can't be terribly effective because that oil will find other markets and oil that went to those markets is displaced and goes to the U.S."

Porter argues that since Sinclair does not seek to buy oil from overseas, it meets TFOI standards.

"We can guarantee that we are not going to work with a company that imports Middle Eastern oil," he said.