Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Tue, Jun 23 1992 Date: Tue, 23 Jun 92 05:14:12 EDT Message-ID: 06-23 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update June 23, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network OIL FINISHES HIGHER: Oil prices finished higher on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday after taking a wild ride on Iraq's efforts to resume petroleum exports. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in July settled at $22.48 a barrel, up 22 cents, at the New York Mercantile Exchange. In earlier trading, oil plunged by 44 cents a barrel amid speculation that Iraq could start selling oil again. HOME HEATING OIL ADVANCES: Home heating oil for delivery in July settled at 61.84 cents a gallon, up .38 cent on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in July settled at 64.95 cents a gallon, down .40 cent. Natural gas prices were mixed, with contracts for delivery in July settling at $1.545 per 1,000 cubic feet, down 1.1 cents. PROGRESS MADE IN U.N. OIL TALKS: Negotiators said progress was made in talks ended Monday between Iraq and the United Nations to end a 22-month old U.N. oil embargo against Iraq. The two sides discussed how to implement a U.N. Security Council plan that would allow Iraq to sell $1.6 billion worth of oil over a six-month period. U.N. negotiator Giandomenico Picco says many key points were settled. BILL WOULD ALLOW AMT DEDUCTIONS: Both versions of a sweeping energy bill in Congress would let independent producers of oil and natural gas take two key deductions to the alternative minimum tax, Bloomberg Business News said Monday. A report by the Independent Petroleum Association of America in May said the AMT "is the single greatest penalty in the tax code on domestic drilling." INTANGIBLE COSTS CONSIDERED: Both versions of a national energy bill will allow independent producers of oil and natural gas to take alternative minimum tax deductions based on intangible drilling costs and the percentage depletion of an oil or gas field. Independents say the structure of the AMT is a key reason for the drop in U.S. oil output. About 70% of U.S. independent producers are subject to the current AMT. PHILLIPS FRANCHISES PRODUCTS: Phillips Petroleum Co. Monday franchised its UltraClean propane motor fuel products in the first such agreement in its 75-year history, according to Bloomberg Business News. Under the franchise agreement, Glaser Gas Inc. of Calhan, Colo., will convert vehicles to run on propane, service propane vehicles and sell UltraClean through its Colorado Springs outlet. TWO-YEAR FUEL PROJECT BEGUN: Chevrolet Motor Division helped launch an alternative-fuel demonstration project called "CleanFleet" Monday in the Los Angeles basin. The two-year project involving Chevrolet, Ford and Chrysler full-sized vans will analyze, document and evaluate Federal Express' use of the vans powered by five alternative fuels and unleaded gasoline as a control. NCO TO PURCHASE SHELL INTERESTS: North Canadian Oils Limited Monday announced an agreement with Shell Canada Limited to purchase Shell's interests in the Progress area of northern Alberta for $75 million effective July 1. NCO said it believes the property has significant development and exploration upside potential. Financing will initially come from established NCO credit facilities. CHEVRON TO JOIN CONSORTIUM: Chevron Corp. said Monday it will join a pipeline consortium to transport oil from the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan to international markets, according to Bloomberg Business News. Last month, the oil company secured agreements to develop two oil fields in Kazakhstan. The former republic and Oman last week agreed to a joint venture to build the pipeline along one of eight routes. PIRELLI MAY LINK TO ICELAND: Pirelli Cables, a British firm, said Monday it has received a contract from Iceland's National Power Co. to study the feasibility of a submarine energy cable between Iceland and Britain. The cable would be the first of a possible network of links between Iceland and the rest of Europe. It would be used to transport hydro-electric energy generated by Iceland. POWER COMPANY HIKES BUDGET: Detroit Edison Monday announced an increase in its 1992 capital budget to $410 million from $375 million. Edison said $26 million of the added funding will be used to speed improvements in customer service and system reliability. The move is the utility's latest step in a program announced last year to minimize customer power outages and the number of customers affected. MK TO WORK ON REACTOR: Morrison Knudsen Corp. announced Monday that it has received a $7.6 million contract to perform decommissioning, demolition and site restoration of the research reactor at the U.S. Army Materials Technology Laboratory in Watertown, Mass. Administration of the decommissioning contract will be performed by the Army Corps of Engineers' New England division. OKLAHOMA GAS PROFITS DROP: 5 Oklahoma Gas & Electric Monday said profits in the 12 months ended May 31 dropped to $2.63 per share, down from $3.40 a share for the same period a year ago. It was the second straight month in which per share earnings for the previous 12 months fell short of the annual dividend level of $2.66 a share. Net income in the year ended May 31 was $105.9 million, vs. $136.9 million a year ago. 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. 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