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 Mon, Jul 27 1992 Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 04:22:00 EDT Message-ID: 07-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update July 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network DEALERS FILE SUIT VS. EXXON: Exxon gasoline dealers, upset that the company has decided to leave the cutthroat southern California retail market, filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit Friday, hoping to stop the move. Exxon's domestic oil and gas division announced May 12 that it would stop selling gasoline to 156 stations in southern California. DEALERS SAY THEY WERE TRICKED: In a lawsuit filed against Exxon by gasoline dealers in southern California, dealers claim they were tricked into investing an average $350,000 in their stations before Exxon announced it was pulling out of the market. Exxon called the lawsuit groundless. Chevron, which plans to purchase 23 of the southern California Exxon stations for $20 million, is named as a co-defendant. OIL FUTURES HIGHER: Energy futures settled higher on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday. The increase was partially caused by reports that Iraq and the United Nations would renew talks on Iraqi weapons inspections. Also, Russian gasoil contaminated with bacteria was discovered in Northwest Europe storage facilities. Petroleum products were higher, led by heating oil. SWEET CRUDE GOES UP TWO CENTS: September light sweet crude settled 2 cents higher on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday. It closed at $21.98 a barrel. August heating oil was .66 cent higher at 62.35 cents a gallon. August unleaded gasoline was .80 cent higher at 62.12 cents a gallon. August natural gas was 14.4 cents higher at $1.939 per 1,000 cubic feet. EL PASO ELECTRIC ACQUITTED: El Paso Electric Co., two of its former officers and a number of other businessmen were acquitted Friday on charges they cheated investors out of about $12 million through an insurance fraud scheme. The defendants were accused of conspiring to commit theft of more than $20,000 through an annuities scam. El Paso Electric filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 8. NEVADA RATE INCREASE OK'D: Nevada Power Co. Friday was granted a $23.1 million increase in general rates by the Public Service Commission of Nevada, effective Monday. The new rates allow the company to recover its investment in new facilities and financing costs, the company says. The commission also approved recovery of $1.9 million in costs associated with the company's resource plan. RAYTHEON SELLS SEISMIC HOLDINGS: Raytheon Co. Friday signed an agreement to sell its seismic businesses to Schlumberger Ltd., an oilfield drilling services company, for an undisclosed price. The sale includes Raytheon's Seismograph Service Ltd. and GeoQuest Systems Inc. Seismograph Service provides seismic services to petroleum and mineral explorers in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Far East. PERTROLITE MAKES DEAL: Petrolite Corp. said Friday it has signed an agreement to acquire the exclusive rights to distribute Quaker State Chemical Co.'s SULFA-SCRUB products in petroleum industry markets. The SULFA-SCRUB technology is used to remove hydrogen sulfide and organic sulfides from liquid and gaseous streams. OT BEING EXAMINED: Nashville Electric Service pays about $2.9 million per year in overtime to employees, and members of the Tennessee Electric Power Board would like to know why. "It's such a large figure," said Sen. John Hicks, chairman of the board. "I'd just like to know how it's managed." CALHOUN STATION IS OPERATIONAL: The Omaha (Neb.) Public Power District's Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station is gradually returning to operation after a July 3 shutdown caused by a faulty electrical system. The start-up began Wednesday, and the plant is expected to return to 100% of its generating capacity within a week. COOPERATIVE SEEKS APPROVAL: East Kentucky Power Cooperative is awaiting state approval to start construction next May on three 100-megawatt turbines. It would be located at a partially completed coal plant in Trapp, Ky., that was abandoned in the early '80s. The turbines would generate power for peak hours of winter and summer months. OIL GOES DOWN NEOSHO RIVER: About 50 barrels of oil dumped onto the ground in Le Roy, Kan., and heavy rain washed the oil into the Neosho River in Coffey County. The cause: A broken line on an oil well. Environmental officials say they expect the oil to disperse without causing damage. Energy Editor: Ed Kelleher. (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