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 Wed, Mar 25 1992 Date: Wed, 25 Mar 92 05:43:34 EST Message-ID: 03-25 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update March 25, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network GAS HAS HIGHEST CLOSE OF YEAR: Technical trading factors and cold weather through much of the USA sent natural gas futures to their highest close of the year Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas for delivery in April settled at $1.418 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 7.2 cents from the final price Monday, when gas had also shown a sharp gain of 7.8 cents. Gas had not been above $1.40 since December. ENERGY PRICES MIXED: Energy futures prices were mixed Tuesday. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in May settled at $19.22 per barrel, up 9 cents. Lower-grade sour crude for delivery in May settled at $16.50 per barrel, up 12 cents. Home heating oil for delivery in April settled at 53.21 cents a gallon, down .33 cent. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in April settled at 57.79 cents a gallon, up .03 cent. SOVIET NUKE PLANT LEAKS GAS: A radioactive gas leak at a Chernobyl-style nuclear reactor Tuesday has critics urging tighter safety for Soviet-built nuclear plants. Russian officials minimized damage from the leak at the Leningradskaya plant, saying filters neutralized the gases. "This ... is yet another example of how aging reactors are threatening the world," said John Willis, a Greenpeace nuclear expert. WHITE HOUSE CRITICIZED: Germany Tuesday called on the former Soviet Union to close all 16 Chernobyl-type reactors following the leak of radioactive gases from a plant near St. Petersburg. Finland urged safety improvements in Russian nuclear plants. Some U.S. experts accused the White House of focusing only on dismantling Soviet nuclear weapons while ignoring the greater dangers from civilian nuclear plants. CITY TO TEST VEGETABLE OIL FUEL: Sioux Falls, S.D., will test a new fuel derived from vegetable oil that hasn't been used in the USA before on its public bus system. Diesel-Bi fuel will be used in two buses for at least four months. The fuel is an alternative to diesel and is produced by chemical modification of vegetable oils. Novamont, an Italian company that makes the fuel, is running similar tests in Europe. (For more, see special Fuel package below.) U.S. TERMS COULD BLOCK PACT: President Bush said Tuesday he wants the USA to sign a treaty to halt global warming, but his terms are so loose they could block the agreement, critics say. By insisting that the treaty set neither a timetable nor targets for reducing emissions of the gases that can cause climate warming, Bush could sabotage international efforts to stem climate change, the critics say. TEXAS EASTERN GETS FERC OK: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has given Texas Eastern Transmission Corp., a subsidiary of Panhandle Eastern Corp., final approval for a settlement concerning the rate recovery of clean-up costs associated with PCBs at locations along its pipeline system. "This settlement represents a fair and reasonable solution to a very complex problem," said George L. Mazanec, president of TETCO. HYDROGEN AS FUEL STUDIED: Hydrogen can be a competitive automotive fuel if development of fuel cell technology is successful, an Energy Department-sponsored study shows. The study compared a gasoline-powered vehicle to a hybrid vehicle consisting of batteries and a fuel cell. It found that when the environmental damage of combusting gasoline is considered, operating the hybrid is about $3,000 cheaper. PLANT'S NOISE TO BE DISCUSSED: Strange noises at Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp. in Burlington, Kan., will be discussed at a public meeting Thursday, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said Tuesday. Loud noises shook the plant Feb. 28 and March 16 as its temperature was brought to operating levels. NRC hasn't found the cause of the noise. OIL PRODUCERS GET TAX BREAK: The Kansas House Tuesday tentatively approved a bill giving oil producers a property tax break; a similar break to natural gas producers failed. Under the measure, oil wells producing less than two barrels daily and are less than 2,000 feet deep will be exempt from property taxes. A final vote on the bill is Wednesday. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON FUEL: TESTS TO BEGIN IN APRIL: The test drives of Sioux Falls, S.D., public buses powered by a fuel derived from vegetable oil begin in April. The city will pay the same amount for Diesel-Bi as it does for diesel, said John Roberts, city planner. The project will take 5,000 gallons, he said. The fuel, based on vegetable oil made from soybeans, sunflowers and canola, will be produced in Fort Wayne, Ind. SOUTH DAKOTA MAY BENEFIT: Diesel-Bi can be used in any diesel engine. The product has environmental and safety advantages over other fuels, the company says. Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said he has worked with Ferruzzi-Montedison Group, Novamont's parent, for some time to bring the test drive to his state. The success of such a fuel could mean production in South Dakota and the use of its crops to make it. MIDWEST IS LOGICAL TEST SITE: It takes a large company and its resources to work through the original problems and production of such a product, Daschle said. "If we can show the viability for this product, it really paves the way and it opens up additional doors for smaller producers." The Midwest is a logical place to process the diesel alternative because it's close to the crops, said Novamont's Marcie Kennedy. (End of package.) Energy Editor: William Snoddy. (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