MGRM also ran a third program of “guaranteed margin” contracts, under which it agreed to make deliveries at a price that would assure the independent operator a fixed margin relative to the retail price offered by its geographical competitors. The contract could be extended annually for a defined period and at MGRM’s discretion. By September of 1993, MGRM was obligated for a total of 54 million barrels under this type of contract, although MGRM’s renewal option meant that these volumes were not firm obligations. It is the first two programs involving 154 million barrels of obligations for periods up to ten years that constituted MGRM’s designated short position in oil.