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, Aug 17 1992 Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 04:19:44 EDT Message-ID: 08-17 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update Aug. 17, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network AQUIFER RULING TO BE APPEALED: Union Texas Petroleum Holdings Inc. said Friday that it plans to appeal a ruling that it and Mobil Oil must pay for a study of environmental damage at the Rush Springs Aquifer near Cyril, Okla. An interim order was issued Wednesday required a study to determine the extent and level of contamination and whether remediation of the aquifer is possible. The companies must split the cost. COMPANIES MUST SPLIT COST: Administrative Law Judge Randolph Specht of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in Oklahoma City issued an interim order Wednesday requiring a study of the Rush Springs Aquifer near Cyril, Okla. Specht ordered Union Texas Petroleum Holdings Inc. and Mobil Oil to split the cost. Union Texas held a 25% interest in a water flood unit that allegedly contaminated the aquifer. OIL PRICES WANDER DOWN: Oil prices dropped slightly Friday as the market showed signs of wandering without any concrete news of supply and demand. Also, many traders are on vacation this month and so volume has been slight. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in September slipped .06 cent to $21.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. REFINED PETROLEUM PRODUCTS MIXED: Home heating oil for delivery in September rose .17 cent to 58.90 cents a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday. Unleaded gasoline for September delivery dropped .30 cent to 60.80 cents a gallon. Natural gas for delivery in September also fell, down 2.1 cents to $1.832 per 1,000 cubic feet. OIL FIELDS OPENING UP: The Russian Far East looks better now than ever to Arctic Slope Regional Corp. of Barrow, Alaska. ASRC, owned by Inupiat Eskimos, has been trying to set up oil-services ventures. Siberia's oil fields are opening to Western companies that might need ASRC's help, and the business climate there has improved. The demise of Communist hardliners has made the situation easier, says ASRC. CHEVRON ALREADY HAS DEAL: Until a coup upset the Communist government in the Soviet Union in August 1991, "there were always (Communist Party members) putting a damper on negotiations," says John McClellan of Arctic Slope Regional Corp. "Immediately after, those guys were gone." Since then, Chevron has signed a $20 billion deal to develop Kazakhstan oil fields. More agreements have come since then. INDIAN JOINT VENTURE PLANNED: Trading company C. Itoh & Co. said Sunday it plans to join with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries to operate an oil refinery in India, Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai reports. The joint venture will be formed by year's end with a capital of $300 million. The Indian government will own 48%; Reliance, 26%; and C. Itoh and other international concerns, 26%. WWPC FILES TO SELL STOCK: Washington Water Power Company filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell as much as $15 million of preferred stock. Together with a previous offering, that filing lets the Spokane-based company issue up to $35 million of preferred shares periodically, on terms to be released at the time of the sale. No underwriters were named. WWPC sells electricity and natural gas. ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO GET TEST: An electric-powered streamliner designed by Madhouse Design and sponsored by Kenwood Corp. will attempt to exceed 250 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats at Wendover, Utah, this week. The vehicle uses 117 12-volt automobile batteries. It's 33 feet long, 2.5 feet wide and 3 feet high. Six thousand pounds of its 8,000-pound weight is battery. SIGN TO FOCUS ON OIL SPENDING: A news conference Monday during the Republican National Convention in Houston will be called to focus attention on American dependence on foreign oil. An electric sign will be unveiled continuously reporting the dollars spent by Americans on oil imports from the start to the conclusion of the convention. HAWKINS REPORTS LOSS: Hawkins Energy Corp. Friday reported a net loss of $47,000 ($.01 per share) for the second quarter of 1992, compared with net loss of $29,000 ($.01 per share) for the second quarter of 1991. During the first six months of 1992, the company reported a net loss of $152,000 ($.04 per share) compared to a $59,000 ($.02 per share) loss during the first half of 1991. MAYNARD REPORTS EARNINGS DROP: Maynard Oil Co. Friday reported second quarter earnings from continuing operations of $130,511, or 3 cents per share, on revenues of $4 million. That compares to net income of $507,976, or 10 cents per share, on revenues of $5 million for the same period in 1991. 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