Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The lobbying group for oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. hired a nephew of U.S. Senator Richard Durbin to argue the industry’s case against climate-change legislation that threatens to slash profits.

The American Petroleum Institute named Martin J. Durbin as executive vice president of government affairs yesterday, just hours after Democrats who control the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation that would impose limits on carbon-dioxide emissions and increase fuel-production costs.

Durbin, a former legislative assistant on environmental and energy issues in the U.S. House and Senate, will begin working for the API next month, the Washington-based group said in a statement. Karen Matusic, an API spokeswoman, confirmed Martin Durbin’s relationship to the senator, an Illinois Democrat who is the most powerful leader in the chamber after Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“I know he will proudly represent the interests of the thousands of companies and the millions of employees in the oil and natural gas industry, and stand up for policies that promote jobs and affordable energy,” Jack Gerard, API chief executive officer, said in the statement.

The API has said legislative proposals under consideration in the House and Senate would cost U.S. consumers hundreds of dollars a year in higher gasoline and household-energy costs. Congressional leaders and environmental groups have accused the industry of exaggerating the impacts to protect profits.

‘New Challenge’

Max Gleischman, a spokesman for Senator Durbin, declined to comment when contacted by telephone. The API didn’t immediately respond to a request to make Martin Durbin available for an interview.

“I am honored to take on this new challenge and excited by the opportunity to represent an industry that is vital to America’s economic well-being,” Martin Durbin said in the API statement.

Durbin, 44, is a native of Belleville, Illinois, and a graduate of the University of Maryland, according to biographical details provided by the API. His 64-year-old uncle was born in nearby East St. Louis, a former coal-mining and steel-making center. The elder Durbin has been in Congress since 1982.

Martin Durbin will leave a post with the American Chemistry Council to join the API, the oil group said in the statement.

The recruitment of Martin Durbin isn’t the first time Big Oil has tapped a Democratic lobbyist to carry the petroleum industry’s message to Capitol Hill.

Two years ago, Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil hired a former aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help the company’s lobbying efforts. George Crawford, who was Pelosi’s chief of staff when she was minority leader, was retained under Exxon Mobil’s contract with the law firm King & Spaulding LLP, public filings showed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Carroll in Chicago at jcarroll8@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 00:00 EST