The U.S. government should put tax gasoline at $1 a gallon to save energy and avoid a looming oil crunch, the chief executive of U.S. independent oil company Hess Corp. (HES) said Tuesday.

"A gasoline tax of $1 a gallon would boost conservation and help pay down the federal deficit by $120 billion a year," said John Hess at an oil industry conference here.

He also proposed national standard fuel economy for all vehicles, with the help of gasoline hybrids and diesel cars. Asked if he expected such measures to be introduced, he said "no."

-By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 20 7842 9266; benoit.faucon@dowjones.com
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