Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Mon, Mar 16 1992 Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 05:48:19 EST Message-ID: 03-16 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update March 16, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CRUDE OIL SETTLES HIGHER: Energy futures prices settled higher Friday in active trading. The near-month delivery contract for light sweet crude oil, which rose 33 cents on Thursday, gained another 35 cents to settle at $19.18 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The near-month-delivery price for lower-grade sour crude settled at $16.47 a barrel, up 40 cents. HEATING OIL, GASOLINE HIGHER: Home heating oil for delivery in April settled 1.18 cents higher at 53.36 cents a gallon Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Unleaded gasoline for April delivery settled at 59.35 cents a gallon, up 0.72 cent. Gasoline prices followed heating oil higher. Natural gas prices pushed ahead, with contracts for delivery in April settling at $1.212 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 1.5 cents. EX-PHIBRO HEAD TRADES HOLDINGS: The former head of Salomon's Phibro Energy unit traded out of most of his holdings in the troubled investment-banking and bond-trading firm last month. Ernst Weil, who retired as Phibro chairman at the end of last year, sold 93% of his stock in Salomon the last week of February. Weil sold well above the $20 3:4 level the stock fell to in September. He sold 261,685 shares for an average $31.12. JAPAN PLANS ELECTRIC CARS: Several Japanese automakers are planning sizeable production of electric vehicles before the end of the century, despite cost and range limitations, according to Runzheimer International. There's a research venture between Nissan and Kyushu Electric Power to produce Japan's first full-size electric passenger car this spring. The car will have a top speed of 62 mph and 115-mile range. QUALITY SHIFTS OVER TIME: Consumers see less difference between quality of domestic and Asian autos after about five years of ownership, according to a study from J.D. Power and Associates. Findings show domestic automakers have been able to decrease the number of problems owners find as cars age. "The quality race is never over ... because word of mouth lives on," Power said. EXXON, AMOCO TOP-RANKED: Only 12 U.S. industrial companies now have top-notch ratings from the two main agencies that look at company debt. Getting top Moody's and Standard & Poor ratings are, among other companies, Exxon and Amoco. Other top-rated companies include Emerson Electric and General Electric. COMPANY WANTS RATE HIKE: Massachusetts Electric Company Friday filed a 4.8% rate increase request with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilites. The company said it was to recover the higher costs of providing electricity. The proposal would mean a $66 million increase in annual revenues. If approved, the increase would be effective Oct. 1 and mean an average $2.06 more per customer per month. LAKEHEAD TO FILE TARIFF HIKE: Lakehead Pipe Line Co. LP announced Friday that it plans to file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission new tariffs, including an adjustment to the transportation rates. The rates for transporting liquid hydrocarbons on the Lakehead Pipe Line system would increase 18% under the new tariffs. Lakehead last increased its rates in 1982, according to the company's president. RATES NOT RAISED IN 10 YEARS: Lakehead Pipe Line Co.'s Brian MacNeill Friday explained a plan for an increase in tariffs by saying the company's operating costs have increased since 1982, the last time rates were raised. "A majority of the rate charges represent costs such as property taxes" that Lakehead can't control. The new tariffs will be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission April 1. ENERGY OFFSETS FOOD COSTS: Wholesale prices edged up a modest 0.2% in February as another decline in energy prices helped offset the biggest surge in food costs in two years, The Labor Department said Friday. Energy prices edged down for a third straight month in February, falling 0.1%. Gasoline and home heating oil costs rose by 1.9% and 16.2% respectively. Electricity and natural gas prices dropped 1% each. ADDINGTON SALE COMPLETED: Addington Resources Inc. Friday announced it completed the sale of its Kanawha Land Co. Inc. subsidiary and certain mining equipment. Under previously announced terms of the agreement, Pittston Coal Sales Corp. acquired all of the outstanding stock of Kanawha Land Co. Inc. for $42.5 million in cash. It also agreed to purchase certain mining equipment for $8.5 million in cash. ASSETS INCLUDE COAL CONTRACTS: Assets acquired by Pittston Coal Sales Corp. in an agreement with Addington Resources primarily include two long-term coal supply contracts with the Appalachian Power Co. The two contracts call for a total of approximately 21 million tons of coal to be delivered over the next 14 years. Energy Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM