Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy,americast.usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Tue, Sep 15 1992 Date: Tue, 15 Sep 92 04:23:48 EDT Message-ID: 09-15 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update Sept. 15, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CHARGING STATIONS ARE UNVEILED: Los Angeles officials Monday unveiled the first electric vehicle charging facilities available to the general public. The facilities are at the Department of Water and Power's downtown headquarters. The department will install 60 facilities in various areas by the end of 1993 in an effort to make L.A. the first electric vehicle-ready city in the United States. COMING MEETING BOOSTS OIL: Energy futures prices rallied on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday ahead of a meeting of the 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries beginning Wednesday to set an output ceiling for the rest of 1992. Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery rose 30 cents to $22.31 a barrel. REFINED PRODUCTS RISE: Refined petroleum products all increased Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Home heating oil for delivery in October rose .73 cent to 63.54 cents a gallon. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in October climbed 1.15 cents to 60.93 cents a gallon, and natural gas for October delivery rose 3.6 cents to $2.184 per 1,000 cubic feet. GAS COMPANIES FORM PARTNERSHIP: Transco Energy Company Inc., Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc. and Public Service Company of North Carolina Inc. said Monday they have formed a partnership to construct and own pipeline facilities. The Blue Ridge Pipeline Company would construct and own facilities to provide transportation service through capacity created by an expansion of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation's system. SANDIA TO DEVELOP WASTE MAPS: Sandia National Laboratories and Mechanical Technology Inc. have signed a cooperative research and development agreement to develop a sensing system for mapping and inspecting waste environments such as underground storage tanks. MT is developing a system for the Department of Energy to map the surface of underground waste stored in tanks. The system also will provide nuclear waste storage maps. PAN PACIFIC SELLS TO PERTAMINA: Pan Pacific Petroleum Inc. said Monday that subsidiary Enim Oil Co. Ltd. has begun selling gas to Pertamina, the Indonesian National Oil Co. A 17-kilometer gas pipeline was completed on July 15. Gas delivery began on Sept. 6. Enim is negotiating with Pertamina over price and the amount of production. QUESTION SETS TONE: Delegates to a Wednesday meeting of OPEC's Economic Commission Board on Monday raised the question of how to bring prices up to OPEC's minimum reference price without dampening demand for their crude, according to Bloomberg Business News. Senior officials from two member countries said that debate may have set the tone for Wednesday's meeting in Geneva, where production levels will be set. DETROIT POWER SALES SLOW: Detroit Edison said Monday that electricity sales dropped nearly 8% in August from a year ago. Detroit Ed said the slowdown reflected factory slowdowns and unseasonably cool weather. All classes of customers used less electricity than in the same month last year, with the combined total for residential, commercial and industrial down 7.7%. POGO JOINT VENTURE DRILLS WELL: Pogo Producing Co. said Monday its joint venture group has begun drilling the first exploratory well on Block B8-32 in the Gulf of Thailand. Pogo's Thailand subsidiary holds a one-third interest in the 2.6-million acre concession acquired in August 1991. Pogo, headquartered in Houston, explores for, develops and produces oil and natural gas. PUMA BEGINS INJECTION WELL: Puna Geothermal Venture in Pohoiki, Hawaii, has begun drilling a new injection well and has temporarily halted work on another well found to have a small leak, according to project manager Steve Morris. Work on the Kapoho State-4 well that began Friday will take 45 days to 60 days to complete. TRITON TO SELL NOTES: Triton Energy Corp. Monday announced that it has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell $125 million of senior subordinated notes due 1997. Proceeds will be used to repay debts and fund drilling in Columbia. The sale will be managed by Merrill Lynch & Co. and Dillon, Read & Co. S&P CRITICIZES EL PASO PLAN: Standard & Poor's said Monday that El Paso Electric's reorganization plan would be a worst-case proposal for both secured debt and lease bondholders. El Paso's senior secured debt is rated D by S&P. Secured debtholders and lease bondholders would be expected to fare better through either negotiation with El Paso, or eventually with other interested parties. Energy Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes 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