The Continental Oil Co. et al. v. Federal Power Commission case in 1967 revolved around the issue of whether or not the Federal Power Commission (FPC) had jurisdiction over sales of natural gas by independent producers to interstate pipelines for resale, even if these transactions were made under long-term contracts at fixed prices and volumes. The Supreme Court ruled that such sales fell within FPC's regulatory authority as per the Natural Gas Act, despite objections from oil companies who argued that they should be exempt due to their status as independent producers rather than public utilities or natural gas companies. The court held that Congress intended for all aspects of wholesale rates in interstate commerce to be regulated, regardless of how those rates are determined or who is selling the gas.

In the dissenting opinion for Continental Oil Co. et al. v. Federal Power Commission, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision to uphold the Federal Power Commission's (FPC) jurisdiction over independent producers of natural gas was a misinterpretation of both legislative intent and previous court decisions. He contended that Congress did not intend for FPC to have such broad regulatory power when it passed the Natural Gas Act in 1938, as evidenced by its exclusion of production and gathering facilities from FPC oversight. Furthermore, he believed that prior Supreme Court rulings had consistently limited FPC authority to wholesale sales in interstate commerce only, not including direct sales from producer to consumer or intrastate transactions which were involved here. Therefore, according to Justice Harlan’s view, extending this jurisdiction would be an unwarranted expansion of federal power into areas traditionally governed by state law.